Foot whipping
- This article is part of the SM-201 Macropedia
Foot whipping, variously known as bastinado, falan (phalanga), and falaka (falaqa), is a form of torture wherein the human feet are beaten with an object such as a cane or rod, a club, a piece of wood, or a whip. It is a form of punishment often favored because, although extremely painful, it leaves few physical marks, though evidence can be detected via ultrasound technology.
The prisoner may be immobilized before application of the beating by tying, securing the feet in stocks, locking the legs into an elevated position, or hanging upside-down. The Persian term falaka referred to a wooden plank which was used to secure the feet prior to beating.
Foot whipping is effective due to the clustering of nerve endings in the feet and the structure of the foot, with its numerous small bones and tendons. The wounds inflicted are particularly painful and take a long time to heal, rendering it a redoubtable deterrent but impractical as punishment for subordinates. Some point out that the prominent display of the offender's bare feet contains an element of punitive humiliation as well. This is especially true in Arabic cultures, where it is considered humiliating to bare the soles of one's feet.
This punishment has, at various times, been used in China, as well as the Middle East. It was used throughout the Ottoman Empire (including the Balkans). Foot whipping had been, until recently, utilized as a form of corporal punishment in schools in the Middle East. It was convenient in that it could be employed on both male and female students in lieu of other forms of punishment considered inappropriate for female students (such as caning of the buttocks). Foot whipping employed on students was not as harsh as the kind employed on adults, in that only a long ruler was used to firmly slap the soles of the feet, delivering a less agonizing blow but sufficient to cause pain.
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