The Unfinished Fight of Filipino Comfort Women

The Unfinished Fight of Filipino Comfort Women

TW: Sexual Slavery and Violence

During World War II, more than a thousand Filipino girls and women were taken from their homes, towns, and villages by Japanese soldiers. They were not soldiers or fighters, but just ordinary women, with many still being teenagers. They were imprisoned, raped, forced into sexual slavery. These women were called “comfort women”, but there was no comfort. Only pain, violence, silence, and injustice. 

Now, more than 80 years have passed since World War II, yet for thousands of survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery, justice remains elusive. They are in their 80s and 90s now. Many are sick, some are blind, or hard of hearing. But even now, they have never received formal apology and reparation from the Japanese government. Worse, they have been neglected by the Philippine government. 

The term ‘comfort women’ is a euphemism used to describe the estimated 200,000 girls and women, mostly from Korea, China, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, and the Philippines, who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. When the Japanese military occupied the Philippines from 1942 to 1945, they set up what were called “comfort stations”. These were places such as houses, schools, garrisons, where soldiers could go and sexually abuse women. The women were forced to live there, and they had no way to escape. They were raped, beaten, and treated as less than human.

Source: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/1624/production/_89986650_976_700img_0078.jpg.webp 

One of the most infamous places was the ‘Bahay na Pula’ (‘Red House’) in San Ildefonso, Bulacan. Built in 1929 by Don Ramon Ilusorio, the once-grand mansion became a site of unspeakable horrors in 1944, during what is now known as the ‘Siege of Mapaniqui’. Japanese soldiers stormed the nearby village of Mapaniqui in Candaba, Pampanga, which they believed to be a guerrilla stronghold. Men were restrained and killed. Women were dragged to the Red House, and subjected to days of repeated rape by Japanese forces.

The Long Silence After the War

After the war, the suffering didn’t stop. Many comfort women lived in silence. Many never told their family of the abuse out of fear of shame and stigma. The Philippine government did not provide support and recognition for the victims to speak out. 

Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-01/13/ChkhsmE002001_20170113_HKMFN0A002_11n.jpg 

It wasn’t until decades after the war, in the 1990s, that the survivors began to organize and break the silence. Encouraged by similar movements in South Korea, groups like Lila Pilipina  and the Malaya Lolas (Free Grandmothers) came forward to demand recognition and reparations. They told their stories in radio broadcasts, spoke in public forums, and even testified before international bodies.  

Source: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/lola-rosa-lila-pilipina/aQG_yaGkiDYHOg?hl=en 

The silence was first broken in 1992 by Maria Rosa Luna Henson, then 65 years old, when she became the first Filipina to publicly come forward as a survivor of Japanese military sexual slavery. In her memoir, ‘Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny’, Lola Rosa recounted being only 14 when she was captured by Japanese soldiers in Pampanga. She was taken to a garrison and forced, day after day, to “serve” multiple soldiers. 

Her decision to speak out was not made lightly. For decades, Lola Rosa had kept the trauma all to herself. But when she heard that Korean survivors had begun to publicly demand justice, she gained the courage to join their call. By stepping forward and speaking out, Lola Rosa challenged the silence in the Philippines and inspired many other survivors, now collectively known as ‘Lolas’, to tell their stories. 

Lola Rosa’s testimony marked a turning point in the movement for comfort women’s rights in the Philippines. It was her bravery that brought media attention to an issue long dismissed by political leaders and largely absent from history books. It also catalyzed the formation of Liga Para sa mga Lolang Pilipina or Lila Pilipina (League of Filipino Grandmothers), an organization supporting the Lolas and their families to seek justice, reparations, and recognition. 

Even after her passing in 1997, Maria Rosa Luna Henson’s legacy remains. She humanized a history that many preferred to forget, and her courage to break the silence became an inspiration not only for the former comfort women in the Philippines, but for survivors of wartime sexual violence worldwide. 

Yet successive Philippine administrations have failed to stand with the survivors and act decisively. Despite Japan offering “atonement” funds by soliciting private donations through the Asian Women's Fund, many survivors rejected these as unofficial and insufficient, as they were not made by the Japanese government but from the private sector. 

Erasing History

Source: https://media.philstar.com/images/articles/comfort-women-statue_2018-05-10_14-05-14.jpg 

In 2017, a statue of a comfort woman was erected along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. The woman in the statue, dressed in the traditional Maria Clara attire and covered by cadena de amor vines, stood tall with her eyes blindfolded and fists clenched to her chest. Commissioned by Manuel Chua of the Tulay Foundation and supported by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the piece was meant to memorialize the thousands of Filipino women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II. She symbolized the pain and resilience of the victims. 

However, just a few months later, the statue was removed quietly in the middle of the night. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) cited a drainage improvement project as the reason. Later, the government admitted that it was removed after pressure from the Japanese government and with complicity of Philippine officials. President Duterte later defended the statue’s removal, stating that while it should not be placed in a government area, it could remain if moved to private property, and insisting, “it is not the policy of government to antagonize other nations.”

The statue’s removal marked yet another moment where history was suppressed in favor of economic and diplomatic ties.

The Struggle for Justice

Source: https://www.rappler.com/tachyon/2023/01/comfort-women-japan-un-human-rights-january-31-2023-001.jpg?resize=1400%2C933&zoom=1 

On the International Women’s Day, March 8, in 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ruled that the Philippine government had violated the rights of comfort women by neglecting to pursue justice on their behalf. The committee emphasized that the survivors had been denied recognition, reparations, and emotional support for far too long. 

According to the official UN CEDAW document, the violations included:

  • Failure to investigate and document cases of wartime sexual violence.
  • Lack of reparative measures, such as apologies, compensation, or access to counseling and support.
  • Neglect in preserving memory, including absence of memorials, integration into educational curricula, or public acknowledgment.

The UN CEDAW specifically recommended that the Philippine government:

  • Provide full reparations (including financial and moral compensation).
  • Offer official apologies to survivors.
  • Ensure access to counseling, healthcare, and legal assistance.
  • Include comfort women’s history in public education.
  • Establish public memorials to honor survivors’ experiences and prevent erasure.

To date, the Philippine government has not implemented these recommendations. Despite the UN’s recommendation that the Philippines apologize, compensate, and educate, government response has remained slow and insufficient.

The Legacy of the Lolas

Source: https://tribune.net.ph/2024/11/29/filipino-comfort-woman-lola-estelita-dies-at-94 

In November 2024, Lola Estelita Dy, one of the last surviving Filipino comfort women, passed away at the age of 94. She had just been 13, a child, when she was taken. Like many other survivors, her life was marked by both physical and emotional scars. Even in her frail condition weeks before her passing, Lola Dy still wanted to join rallies. Until her final years, she fought not just for herself but for all those who never got to tell their stories. 

Source: https://thevoicenewsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gorecho-Pulang-Araw-1-1.jpg

The younger generations are also helping carry the torch. In 2024, the historical drama “Pulang Araw”, gained attention for portraying the raw, haunting truth of Filipino comfort women. Survivors and advocates praised the series for giving voice to comfort women, bringing their painful stories to life and enlightening the youth. When history gets forgotten and institutions remain silent, art becomes a powerful form of dissent and remembrance.

It Still Matters

Some people say, “Why bring up the past?.” Or “It’s painful to always remind.” 

These women are not just part of history. They are living proof of how war affects women, how silence and denial perpetuate injustice. Many of the Lolas are now elderly and nearing their final years, some of them have passed away without even receiving formal apologies and reparations. To move on without the truth is not healing. It is abandonment. And these Lolas have been abandoned by the Japanese and Philippine governments for decades. 

To Remember is to Resist

To this day, neither the Japanese government nor the Philippine state has taken full responsibility for what happened. While Japan has issued apologies and created the Asian Women’s Fund, many survivors rejected this as it was not an official act of state accountability. Meanwhile, the Philippine government has been criticized for prioritizing foreign relations over the dignity of its own citizens. 

The comfort women have carried the burden of truth for decades. They have demanded justice not only for themselves, but also for history, dignity, and for all victims of sexual violence in conflict. 

We have the responsibility to carry their stories forward, not only to honor their suffering, but to ensure that future generations remember and keep their memory alive. 

Sources

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

Back to Blog