Surfers Corner, the well-known traffic circle close to the Muizenberg beachfront, doubled as a red carpet runway on Saturday 12 March as men of the Lions Club of Tokai strutted their stuff – in heels – to raise awareness for gender-based violence (GBV).
Speaking at the event, Mark Rossouw, president of the Lions Club of Tokai, thanked all the participants who were brave enough to put on heels for the worthy cause.
“GBV is rife in this country and often men are accused of not saying anything, being silent and today we proved them wrong. We came here, we put on our heels and we walked around to show that men are taking a stand against GBV,” said Rossouw.
Stealing the show with his outfit on Saturday was Charlie Flanagan, the first vice district governor of Lions District 410W.
Wearing a purple dress with matching platforms, Flanagan shared that he had to squeeze his size-11 feet into a size 10 shoe because it was the largest high heels he could find. As to the dress, he said it was part of the agreement he had made with his sponsors. “When I got to a certain amount, I would wear two-inch heels, then three-inch, then a dress. It was all part of the incentive to raise more money for the cause.”
Last year, Tokai Lions organised its first “Walk in Heels” event at Muizenberg beach. This year’s event, which started at 08:00, was again aimed at raising both awareness and funds.
Each of the men who walked in heels were sponsored and raised funds for, not only GBV activities of the club, but also for Lions Clubs International Foundation, the part of Lions Clubs which responds to emergencies and disasters around the globe.
So far this year’s event has raised a total of R30 650.
Flanagan said the international foundation was currently giving grants to Ukraine for all the refugees there to be used towards supplying medical supplies, water, blankets, food and other essentials.
Rossouw said a portion of the money raised would go to the victim empowerment room at the Steenberg Police Station.
Rossouw, who also serves on the Community Policing Forum for Steenberg, said he used to volunteer at the victim empowerment room and women often arrive at the victim empowerment room with nothing more than the clothes on their back.
