The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently passed legislation recommending that the city build a memorial dedicated to the “comfort women” of World War II. For those of you who might not know, comfort woman is a term used to describe the women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during World War II. As far as titles go, I’ll say it right now: it’s a really misleading title used to put a positive spin on something that was horrifying for a lot of women.
The legislation serves as more a strong recommendation than anything–there is no funding provided right now. That would have to come from the city. There are also concerns that such a memorial could ignite anti-Japanese sentiment in the city. It’s worth noting that San Francisco recently dealt with a problem where graffiti saying “No More Chinese” was being painted in Chinese neighborhoods.
To address those concerns, the legislation has a line that reads: “Japan is not the only country that has victimized women.”
Whether or not this memorial actually gets built remains yet to be seen. Right now the ball is in the city’s court. Here’s hoping for the best.
(via Jezebel)
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