Comfort Women Response

The moral issues that arise in the readings each decide to focus on particular narratives of comfort women.  Based on the selected readings, it seems that peoples’ desires differ when it comes to what action should be taken.  Some want the truth about what happened to be spoken.  Some people want an apology or compensation.  Some want action taken to prevent further cases.  Some want countries to be introspective about the flaws in their own system instead of blaming Japan for its wrongdoings.  

This is an issue of the past and the present in that similar exploitation of women are happening in different countries, so I am inclined to agree with the idea that the informative element is very important.  Unveiling the truth and understanding it fully would help prevent future instances similar to this one, and can work toward better global treatment of women.  I think that information should be encouraged, in addition to a general public acknowledgement about the wrongness of this practice and affirmation that this will not happen again.

However, I think that specific information should not be revealed unless the women involved are comfortable discussing it.  It is not the women’s obligation to discuss their experience.  Forcing them to relive the past would be depriving them of their right to move on in their own way.  Tsutomu notes that people lied about their experience because they felt pressured to.  The women who endured this should be the respected.  Sunde wanted her story to be known and wanted an apology from the government.  She should get her apology.  I do not believe that every woman wants an individual apology.  I also would not believe every woman would like to discuss it.  I do not think we should prescribe what the former “Comfort Women” want or need as a collective, but as individuals. 

I may seem to contradict myself when I say the truth is important, but the victims’ rights are important as well.  Which do we favor?  I would say the victims’ rights are more important than insensitively demanding the truth from them.  Many women would be open to telling their story, but if the women do not wish to relive it, their story is only theirs.  It is their choice if or when they would like to tell it.