Solidaritas #108
South Korean court orders Japan to compensate women forced to work in military brothels during WWII
Good morning!
Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.
This issue’s header image is of store in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, in 2019.
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In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
Afghan women's rights activists are demanding the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecute Afghanistan's Taliban rulers for systemic violations of human rights.
Australia
49 women have been killed in Australia so far in 2023 as a result of violence. Are we actually making any progress? (Update: the official count is now 54 as per time of writing). And the deaths of four women in one week in South Australia are prompting calls for a royal commission into domestic violence.
At 82, Chilean migrant Alicia Mora-Hyde is the sole owner and worker in the last factory producing handmade umbrellas in Australia.
Bhutan
Bhutan celebrated the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2021 but LGBTIQ+ activists are pushing for the legal recognition of all gender identities and marriage equality.
China
How young Chinese women are defying the Chinese Communist Party and making their own reproductive choices.
Tired of being ‘warm and soft,’ an increasing number of Chinese women are taking up boxing.
India
An annual report on worker safety in the Indian auto sector found that the majority of women workers are forced to operate under duress and without adequate training or safety equipment.
A new study in India adds to the body of evidence that organ donors are predominantly women, particularly in Asia, while the recipients are predominantly men, troubling statistics that experts say illustrate the life-and-death impact of gender inequality.
How COVID-19 added to increased rates of economic violence against women in India.
Indonesia
Rather than take a confrontational approach with trespassers looking to farm or log in a tropical rainforest in Aceh, teams of women rangers try dialogue first.
Malaysia
A lawmaker’s suggestion that Muslim men should turn to polygamy to resolve the ‘issue’ of single Muslim women has come under fire.
Nepal
Nepali women going through domestic violence or spousal neglect, and unable to bear it any longer, have abandoned not just their abusive households but also their own country, going overseas for work:
Back from Malaysia, Muna Acharya has invested her savings in a convenience store. “Foreign employment has given me everything. I no longer have to worry about where my next meal is going to come from, and I don't have to live in constant fear of physical abuse,” she says.
New Zealand
The gender pay gap means that for the rest of the year, women in New Zealand are effectively working for free.
Pakistan
After extreme floods put a third of Pakistan under water in 2022, architect Yasmeen Lari vowed to build one million flood-resilient homes. Now, her foundation reveals it is already one third of the way towards that target.
For centuries, Pakistan's Wakhi shepherdesses have trekked to remote mountain pastures to graze their flocks. The income they generated has been pivotal in transforming their community, helping to pay for healthcare, education and the first road out of their valley. As their way of life dies out, join them on one of their last trips to the pastures.
Papua New Guinea
PNG’s women's boxing team needs money to keep their Pacific Games dream alive.
The Philippines
Leila de Lima, the most prominent critic of the former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called ‘war on drugs’, has been granted bail, after more than six years in jail on what rights groups condemned as trumped-up charges.
Regional
A South Korean court has ordered Japan to compensate a group of women who were forced to work in military brothels during World War Two. Japan has described the ruling as ‘regrettable’:
The 16 women, who were kept as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers, previously had their case dismissed. They filed a lawsuit in 2016 but Seoul Central District Court dismissed it five years later, citing sovereign immunity. The Seoul High Court have now overturned the ruling.
In a statement the court said it recognises South Korea's jurisdiction over the Japanese government because the women lived in the country and sought compensation for acts deemed "unlawful".
"It is reasonable to consider that there is a common international law which does not recognise state immunity for an illegal act... regardless of whether the act was a sovereign act".
Lee Yong-soo, a 95-year-old activist and victim was emotional as she thanked the court for the ruling. As she left the courthouse she told reporters "I'm grateful. I'm really grateful". She added that she wished she could tell all the victims who had already passed away about the verdict.
It's estimated that more than 200,000 women and girls were forced into prostitution to serve Japanese soldiers in World War Two.
Significant progress has been made towards eliminating cervical cancer.
How climate change intensifies the care crisis for women.
Sri Lanka
Women-led unions have called for an inclusive consultation process prior to the potential adoption of proposed labour reforms.
Thailand
Thailand’s Cabinet has approved an amendment to its civil code to allow same-sex marriage, with an expectation for the draft to be submitted to Parliament next month. The amendment to the Code will change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners” for same-sex couples to be able to receive the same rights that heterosexual couples receive.