Daily Times

Human beings, since their beginning on the planet earth, have been covering their bodies in one form or the other. They must have invented some type of a dress to safeguard them from heat and cold. They also must have made some kind of a footwear to protect their feet from injury and bites of poisonous creatures. Later, shoes became a necessity, as men and women had to travel long distances on foot in the early days of civilisation with no mode of transportation.

It is widely believed that Egyptians were the first to introduce shoes as an industry when they started making footwear from woven reeds. Looking at the lifestyle of the early man, when people used to live in caves, covering their body with long and thick leaves, they must have adopted some means of covering their feet, as it was impossible to commute from one place to another in snow-covered fields and mountains and searing hot deserts. A quick online search reveals that the oldest shoe is 5,500 years old. It is a leather shoe that was found in 2008 in the Areni-1 cave in Armenia. It can be said with certainty that some form of footwear had been an integral part of human clothing right from the arrival of human beings on this planet.

With the passage of time and development of science and technology, human beings developed various types of clothing, and the same goes for footwear. As clothing for men and women is different, shoes were also divided into three categories: male, female and children. With further advancements, shoes were divided into more categories, such as casual, formal, ceremonial, sports, safety and combat shoes, to be worn according to the occasion and the requirement.

Shoes are also a status symbol. Some shoes are branded, even gold plated and decorated with costly stones. Kings, queens, royals, nobles and elites pay special attention to selection of shoes; not only in the present day but also in the past, shoes formed a distinctive part of the attire of people in power or authority. Mrs Imelda Marcos, wife of Ferdinand Marcos, former president of Philippines, made headlines when her husband was disposed, and to the surprise of many, it was discovered that the first lady of a third world country had almost 3,000 pairs of shoes, definitely very expensive ones.

The act of placing a military boot on the table and declaring that PML-N and PPP-whose representatives were sitting next to him-lick army boots was not only embarrassing but also highly condemnable

While very expensive shoes are looked at as a status symbol, shoes are also ‘impure’, and ‘unclean’ in most cultures, religions and societies. Shoes are supposed to be taken off before entering any holy building or a place of worship. In mosques, temples and holy shrines, care is taken to establish a special place at the entrance for placing shoes of worshipers and pilgrims.

Reference of shoes is also found in poetry. It is in a famous poem of Bulleh Shah: “From first to last, I search myself/None other did I succeed in knowing/Not so great thinker I am/Who is standing in my shoes alone?/ Bulleh, I know not who I am.”

In history and literature of some cultures, there are stories of shoes being used to humiliate individuals by garlanding them with dirty shoes and forcing them to go around a specific locality, with their faces darkened, sometimes on a donkey. Such a disgraceful practice was common among the people in authority as they liked to dishonour those under their mercy. This exercise of dishonouring still exists in many areas of the Pakistan-India subcontinent.

As shoes are an essential component of our dress codes, they also find a prominent place in politics. There are many instances when politicians referred to shoes, but they did it in a polite way. When Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, after inaugurating a building in Liaquatabad, Karachi, was addressing the audience, a few young men, belonging to the opponent political party, showed shoes as a mark of disrespect. Bhutto, being a mature politician, brought the situation comfortably under control, as he quipped, “Haan, mujhe maloom hai jutay mehange ho gai hain.” (Yes, I know shoes prices have gone high).

Throwing shoes on politicians and those in authority is quite common. This act is carried out to dishonour the opponent or to show anger on the policies of those in power. Incidents of such uncivilised and unethical behaviour are common. An Iraqi journalist threw his shoe on the then president of the USA George W Bush during a press conference in 2008. Many high-profile personalities, including prime ministers, presidents, ministers and government officials, have had shoes hurled at them.

The shoe that became the recent hottest topic of print and electronic media was the one that the federal minister Faisal Vawda brought on a live talk show. The act of placing a military boot on the table and declaring that the PML-N and PPP-whose representatives were sitting next to him-lick army boots was not only embarrassing but also highly condemnable. The words that he used for his fellow politicians could have far-reaching consequences in the political playground of the country.

Such words could flare up the already volatile political atmosphere of the country and could severely disturb the existing civil-military equilibrium. Vawda’s attack contradicts the widely believed notion that the civil-military leadership is on the same page. By his act of placing a boot on the table and uttering non-parliamentary words, Vawda not only embarrassed the entire nation but insulted the military, civilian leadership, political, and above all, the common citizens of Pakistan.

Vawda’s act of bringing a shoe on a talk show was condemned by all, and Prime Minister Khan imposed a two-week ban on him for appearing in any talk show. PEMRA was quick to impose a two-month ban on that talk show and the anchor conducting the show. That ban was withdrawn within twenty-four hours on a nationwide protest of journalists.

We polish our shoes daily; people earn money through the shoe industry; and in the third world countries we often find children siting on pavements, asking pedestrians if they could polish their shoes and earn a livelihood. There is another disgraceful aspect in our society: people of higher monetary status feel no shame in asking their servants to polish their shoes. Some even go to the extend of forcing their wives to polish their shoes just to make them feel inferior and to show their power and superiority.

Shoes are to protect our feet, to keep our feet warm in the winter, and to add to our dress code, and they should be kept only for these purposes. They should not be used to dishonour a fellow citizen or disgrace any fellow human being.

The writer is a former marine engineer and is presently serving in a private organisation