You may have seen the images circulating online: shoes lined up outside a shopping mall, protest signs, and a small but vocal crowd. On Sunday, September 13, a group of citizens gathered in front of the Zara store at the Unicentro mall in northern Bogotá to voice their outrage over how the company allegedly treated one of its own employees.
The demonstration was triggered by a public complaint from María Alejandra Rojas, a worker at the store, who said she was made to leave the premises without shoes on her feet. According to her account, she had to hand over the footwear she used during her shift, leaving her barefoot as she exited the building.
Protesters used footwear as the central symbol of their rally, placing shoes around the demonstration site and carrying signs that called attention to workplace dignity and labor rights in Colombia. The gathering, though largely symbolic, reflects growing public sensitivity to how major retail chains treat their staff, an issue that resonates in a country where labor protections for retail and service workers are frequently debated.
Zara has not yet issued a public response to the allegations, and it remains unclear what internal policy, if any, led to the incident described by Rojas. For the full story and more details on the protest, check out the original report from El Tiempo.
Source: Protesta frente a Zara de Unicentro, en Bogotá, tras denuncia de trabajadora (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: simplisticsimon, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).