Is wearing pink high heels enough for a safe, gender-equal world?

A few days ago, several tweets and videos, which showed many Canadian politicians take centre stage as they posed for the camera in bright, fuchsia pink high heels, were making rounds on the internet. Men flaunted the pink stilettos inside the parliament house to raise awareness about violence against women. 

Needless to say, it was enough to catch everyone’s attention. It was then revealed that the stint was part of a larger campaign, “Hope in High Heels” by the Halton Women’s Place, a UK-based emergency shelter for women and their families. The aim of the campaign is to educate young boys and men about violence against women and raise funds for the cause. 

The Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra took to Twitter to speak about the event. “Violence against women is still prevalent in our society. Hope in Heels is an event that spreads awareness on violence against women while encouraging men and boys to be part of the solution. We wore their signature pink heels in support to this important cause,” he wrote. 

“Now that I have your attention, violence against women comes in all forms, not just physical. Men, starting with me, need to be aware of the consequences of our actions and words and do better to create space for women around us,” he added. 

Newspapers and digital news portals were quick to release the headlining news. It was all over. But are wearing heels enough to ensure a safe space for women? Are wearing heels the only way they could have raised awareness about the issue? Not really. And definitely not for the 736 million women around the world who have been victims of violence. While the intention of the campaign and frenzy of middle-aged white men walking around parliament in hot pink high heels might have been in good faith—cool even—but take a moment to think about it, and we’re not so sure you’ll be as impressed. 

For one, the campaign has been seen as mocking femininity at best. At first glance, even I thought it was cute and new-age. But not a moment later, did I realise that it reduces women to age-old stereotypes including the association of the colour pink with women and the staple outfit. According to an article in NDTV, social media users across Canada expressed their thoughts on the same. ''How are men trying to walk in pink high heels encouraging anyone to be part of a solution to stop violence against women? This does not make me feel safe at all, quite the opposite,” a user wrote. ''As the survivor of a violent attack this is just so offensive,'' while another stated, ''Mocking femininity will really do the trick,” another added. A third wrote, ''This circus is not helping women in any way, shape, or form. It's men having a goddamn laugh. Male violence against women is not a laughing matter and it certainly won't be reduced by a bunch of pr*cks parading around in heels.'' 

Many have referred to the campaign as “insulting,” “offensive,” and “ridiculous”. 

What we can say for certain is that while the campaign might have received the attention it aimed for, it is only one small step towards a much larger cause of serious consequence. Wearing heels and tweeting about it won’t cut it for women out there and there’s a need to go beyond the surface. Nonetheless, we can only hope that the campaign has inspired, enlightened, and educated boys and men about violence against women, equality, and more.