The Filipina “comfort women” sexually exploited by the Imperial Japanese Army deserve a place in Philippine history, a forum in Manila heard on Oct 24.
Such recognition must go beyond getting financial reparations and a formal apology from the Japanese government for the suffering that they endured during World War II, attendees at the hybrid forum added.
Leaders of groups defending the cause of comfort women also urged the Philippine government to implement the resolution passed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The resolution called for the authorities to provide full reparation and an official apology to the survivors, who have suffered decades of physical, psychological, and other consequences.
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“For how else do you quantify our comfort women’s pain and suffering? ,” asked Virginia Lacsa-Suarez, a lawyer for Malaya Lolas (Free Grandmothers), an organization of Filipina comfort women.
Lacsa-Suarez said this is why, on top of reparations and an apology, the story of Filipina comfort women needs to be included in Philippine history books, commemorated in a museum, and be part of the national curriculum.
Only that way will young Filipinos know more about the atrocities committed by the Japanese military during the war, she said.
She said that most of the surviving comfort women have died without finding justice, noting that the Malaya Lolas now only has 25 living members.
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“We always say history repeats itself. History repeats itself only when we forget the history,” Lacsa-Suarez said.
Otherwise, the world will produce another generation of comfort women, she said, citing the current conflicts happening globally.
Arlene Brosas, a party-list representative, urged the passage of a bill introduced last year that seeks to include the story of comfort women in the national educational curriculum. She said the bill, which remains pending in Manila’s lower house of Congress, “seeks to recognize the suffering, sexual slavery, and heroic participation in the resistance by Filipina comfort women under Japanese occupation”.
“The harrowing accounts of comfort women have been neglected in Philippine history books and curricula, contributing to historical injustice,” Brosas said, noting this is why a lot of students are not aware of the struggles of Filipina comfort women.
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Brosas said the bill aims to bring voice and recognition to the courageous struggles of the comfort women who were victims of sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
She said it aligns with the UN's recommendation for the Philippines to include the history of the nation’s survivors of wartime sexual slavery in the educational curriculum.
“Like a million flowers, let our voices be heard,” said Teresita Ang-See, convenor of Flowers for Lolas, a coalition of organizations supporting the cause of comfort women.
Ang-See urged more people to join the coalition and called for the creation of a public monument to commemorate comfort women. She also asked for support for the surviving comfort women who are now at an advanced age and need financial help and medical care.
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According to Ang-See, the story of comfort women shows that “war is never a solution to anything”.
She also urged the Philippine government to resist any pressure from the Japanese government to stop the country from recognizing the suffering of comfort women.
Sharon Cabusao-Silva, director of Lila Pilipina, an organization helping Filipina comfort women, said that even after all the remaining comfort women have passed on, their stories will remain.
She said the history of comfort women is well-documented, not just in the Philippines but also in the UN.
Cabusao-Silva said Lila Pilipina has documented the testimonies of comfort women and that the fight for their cause will continue.
She also called on the Filipino youth to learn more about Philippine history and understand that a “colonial war” launched by Japan’s invasion of the Philippines led to sexual slavery.
