Dates, events, facts

China's "lotus feet" women crippled for beauty

A 105-year-old woman, who has bound feet, has her toenails cut by her daughter in Jiukou county of Zhongxiang city in central China's Hubei province June 28, 2006. Foot binding, which aims to make a woman's feet look tiny and therefore desirable, was practiced in China for centuries before it was banned in 1912 at the fall of the last imperial dynasty. Foot binding, which aims to make a woman's feet look tiny and therefore desirable, was practiced in China for centuries before it was banned in 1912 at the fall of the last imperial dynasty.

But some women continued the practice in secret, particularly in remote areas like Xiaojie, a small town in the southwestern province Yunnan.

Several years ago, more than 100 women with bound feet still lived in the town, a testament to its once prosperous textile business and its residents' high aspirations for their daughters.

Many of the women have since died.  Some historians estimate that as many as 2 billion women had their feet bound over the course of history.