Bibhu Prasad Sahuover 7 years ago

Footbinding

This is a process of so called "footbinding". To achieve this the feet of very young girls were bound generally before the foot’s arch developed fully, usually between the ages of 2 and 5.  By design, footbinding stunted and restricted further foot growth, and reshaped the foot, transforming it. A girl’s feet were washed and her toenails trimmed as far back into the quick as possible. The four smaller toes were bent under and forced against the pad of the foot, then pressed with great force downward and squeezed into the sole until the toes broke. This is not a quick process, it takes roughly two years before the foot is “finished”. . A first-hand story from one of the woman: . When I was seven my mother washed and placed alum on my feet and cut my toenails.  She then bent my toes toward the plantar with a binding cloth ten feet long and two inches wide doing the right foot first and then the left.  She ordered me to walk but when I did the pain proved unbearable.  That night my feet felt on fire and I couldn't sleep; Mother struck me for crying.  On the following days I tried to hide but was forced to walk on my feet. After several months all toes but the big one were pressed against the inner surface. Mother would remove the bindings and wipe the blood and pus which dripped from my feet.  She told me that only with removal of the flesh could my feet become slender. Every two weeks I changed to new shoes.  Each new pair was one- to two-tenths of an inch smaller than the previous one...In summer my feet smelled offensively because of pus and blood; in winter my feet felt cold because of lack of circulation. Four of the toes were curled in like so many dead caterpillars. It took two years to achieve the three-inch model. My shanks were thin, my feet became humped, ugly and odoriferous. What are your thoughts on this? Write a COMMENT below