Why Are Ghanaian Ladies Growing Taller?

A GNA feature by Laudia Nunoo
Tema, Oct. 22, GNA - After successfully creating the awareness through the Beijing Conference that women can do what men do and even do it better, ladies in Ghana are striving to look taller than their male counterparts.
Citizens or foreigners, young and old, illiterate and elites as well as employed and unemployed ladies have added height to their list of things they must conquer the men on.
Since height is a handy work of the Creator and no amount of prayers, fasting, starvation or black power can add even a millimetre of tallness to one's height, ladies have resorted to the wearing of high heels. It is obvious more ladies in recent times have resorted to wearing high-heeled shoes. Such shoes come in different shapes, colours and textures with heights ranging from an inch to about four inches. While some prefer the full high shoes, others go for the open toe while a number of them love the ones with stripes. The colours range from hot red, pink, green, mauve, black, white, yellow, blue and any other colour you can think of. Some also come in a combination of two or more colours.
The shoes also come in deferent textures including mirror, plastic, soft and hard leather as well as wooden.
The GNA observed during the English Language Paper Three (Oral English) Examination of the Nov/Dec 2008 West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Tema, that the dressing, especially that of the female candidates, consisted of tight trousers (carrots, pencil or skinny), shorts popularly known as puda, and blouses.
The curvature of their breasts and abdomen competed with their underpants for the attention of the public. Some had large belts nicknamed "abortion belts" strapped on their tummies. These young ladies easily balanced their weight on their high heels, and swung their hips mimicking the models and actresses they have been watching in TV movies.
The desire to look taller, fashionable and elegant has caught up with the majority of the young ladies so much that some of them are wearing these high heels to work, church, clubs, parties even beaches without caring whether it fitted them or the occasion.
Naa Anyorkor, a resident of La in Accra, appears to be the odd one out. She told GNA: "I slotted on one of my sister's high heel shoes. I became a lot taller and I felt good as it really fitted me. My sisters could not help, but laugh their hearts out as I tried to take a step with it. I walked as though I was being pushed from behind and I kept my knees bent no matter how much I tried to straighten them." Due to the increase in the demand for high-heel shoes in recent times, many sales points are springing up on the streets and in front of shops. They operate mostly in the evenings when the shops have closed for the day.
They have all the colours the ladies are looking for to match their dresses, belts and bags. Ten years ago people looked at ladies wearing loud colours with disdain as they regarded them as call girls attracting attention.
The prices of these high heel shoes are so expensive that one is tempted to question where some of the young girls get the money from to purchase them. A pair of high heel shoes ranges from GH¢ 15 to GH¢ 50 depending on the quality.
Apart from drying the pockets of our ladies, the desire to look like actresses and models as well as match high heels with every dress in the closet can push our young ladies into many immoral activities including child prostitution.
Medical Officers have warned that wearing of high heels has negative effects on the womb and spinal cord. Ladies must, therefore, be cautious and minimize the wearing of high-heel shoes, preferably limiting them to the right occasions.