Walking a Mile in Women’s Shoes to Change Mindsets toward Violence
Posted in CSR Advocacy and Awareness, CSR Events, CSR Projects and Programs on June 27th, 2011 by Centre for Social Research – Be the first to comment
For the first time in India this Father’s Day weekend, Centre for Social Research proudly hosted Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® India, part of the first Global “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” Day. Originally founded ten years ago, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is now a global movement of men and boys taking the renowned saying, “You can’t understand what someone’s going through unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,” to a literal level through organized, peaceful demonstrations of men in high heels expressing empathy towards female victims of crimes such as sexual harassment, assault, rape, domestic abuse and other forms of violence.
Weeks before the event itself, we kicked off a fundraising drive aimed at raising money toward continuing our Crisis Intervention Centres (CICs) in four of Delhi’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Proceeds from these donations will go directly toward supporting survivors of abuse and expanding the CICs’ Women’s Change Collectives and Men’s Support Collectives.
While most Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® events ask men to walk their city’s streets in women’s shoes, our uniquely Indian edition went one step further by asking guys to compete for prizes by performing different feats and tasks while wearing women’s shoes…and we even managed to get some of our own team members and spouses to step up and compete.
Initially, we were a bit nervous about the event, what with the whole “men walking in high heels…in India” thing, but we got off to a great start on June 19, thanks to our emcee, who bravely challenged men to portray the true characteristics of gentlemen: brave, tolerant, respectful, confident and secure enough to place themselves in women’s shoes.
Slowly but surely, the crowds started gathering around the registration table to sign up, donate and find out what in the world was going on! We managed to continue fundraising throughout the day, as shoppers and audience members stopped by to collect pamphlets and purchase awareness raising materials like bookmarks and postcards.
As for the main event, registered “walkers” selected a pair of (pretty fashionable, we think) heels, and off they went: First, racing to be the first to score a football goal (which out of personal experience, can be extremely painful for the feet), then attempting a traditional “housewife” activity such as peeling vegetables or changing diapers on a stuffed toy. Finally, our emcee turned up the heat by interviewing contestants, testing how well they knew their wives and their routines.
As the competition started to calm down, we gathered CSR team members and friends from the community, who performed a street play in several acts about women’s perceived inferiority in workplaces and sports and the hurdles women must overcome in their careers.
After a long run-up of fundraising, organizing and designing the event (and once we’d confirmed that none of our “walkers” had broken an ankle or foot), we were relieved to help make India’s first Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® event a success! With more than 20 competing men and hundreds of supporters and curious audience members, we reached out to more people and a more diverse group of people than we’d expected, including children, teenagers and adults of all ages.
When the walkers decided to dedicate their competitions and performances to their mothers, girlfriends, wives and daughters, we saw it as a symbol of solidarity with the women in their life and hope that the event left some members of the audience pledging solidarity with women, too.
