Comfort Women : Comfort Women In World War II

On September 3rd 1939 World War II started in Europe. During World War II, more than 16 million American men served in the military. While this large portion of the population was overseas fighting for the United States, women had to do many of the jobs in America normally held by men. Women were considered vital assets to the war effort, and the American government made sure to use their skills and labor in many different areas to win the war. Women contributed to the successful war effort by working society, documenting the war effort, and supporting the soldiers.

As Japan began to gain control in Asia, they wanted more power. Korea as placed under the military rule of Japan in 1905, but it wasn’t until 1910 when Korea was officially annexed as a part of Japan (Koreans protest Japanese Control, n.d.). Japan ruled over Korea until 1945 when World War II ended. Japan’s rule was very harsh and dominating. The process of Japan taking over Korea began with Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876 (Korea as a Colony of Japan, 2009).

Through the war effort, women solidified their place in society as capable and responsible citizens by working jobs they had never worked before, managing finances and other aspects of home life, and entering the war as soldiers who helped wage against the Axis powers. Women proved for the first time that they were more than just housewives who could sometimes work in factories when the nation was in trouble. General Eisenhower said that “The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non (essential part) of the invasion effort”.1 Some of these women even served as nurses on the front lines and lost their lives defending our soldiers.

It is safe to say that the Canadian war efforts in World War 2 are something Canada should take much pride in. We united as one strong nation and showed the world how useful and powerful we could be on the world stage. These efforts were also a first step for women working for the Armed Forces in Canada. It allowed women to break many boundaries for themselves as before the war, they lived in a world in which they were expected to stay at home and manage the household. Women worked hard and courageously for Canada and to show the world how strong women can be. Although very successful, Women in the Armed Forces and on the Front Line contributed immensely to the already successful Canadian efforts during World War 2 through the success of oversea

Prior to World War II, many women were unemployed, due to the Great Depression which had started a decade before. With men always getting preference for jobs, there were very few jobs left for women. Consequently, not only were many occupations were reserved for men, but men were also paid wages up to five times higher for the same task as women. Some states also barred married women from holding jobs. However during World War II, America produced at an efficiency which was higher than ever. This meant that the women had an increasing number of jobs. Jobs in the public sector opened up. Since 1939, women progressively changed the idea of patriarchy and the cliché thinking of an average woman in the United States to be a wife and mother.

Many people have never considered what women were doing in WWII when their husbands left to fight. Their lives weren’t easy or normal during the war. Women had to work just as hard as men, sometimes even more so. In this essay, I will discuss the position of American women before World War II, during the war, and at the end of the war.

In the past, WWII and WWI, women were very dominant; they had to take care of their children, do all the chores and also had to cook the food. During WWII, women had to take place for the men (First world war.com). The war changed the life for all Canadian women. When men went to fight, women were called upon to fill their jobs, and this included many jobs that were previously thought of unsuitable for women. Women were called up for war work from March 1941(Women during World War II). The roles of the women were positively impacted by World War II, because they had the potential to re-enter the workforce, control the farms and join the military for the first time. Taking control of the military was tough, but women had shown that they could work together and handle the situation.

When hearing the topic “Comfort Women” that would be discussed at the presentation being held in the ABC building and thoughts ran through my head that it would be about programs that created were created to help women all over the world that may need comfort for situations that may be going on in their family. Come to find out “Comfort Women” actually has to do with women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese soldiers during World War 2. Hearing something like this is very heartbreaking and disturbing especially because it is something I have never heard about. It is inhumane to hold someone as a sex slave and it is basically stripping them of their natural born human rights. Though I do not know the right those who

This paper is a review of the book Japan’s Comfort Women-Sexual slavery and prostitution during WWII and the US occupation by Yuki Tanaka. This book was published in 2002 by Routledge. The book deals with the thousands of Japanese, Korean, Chinese and other Asian and European women who were victims of organized sexual violence and prostitution by means of “comfort stations” setup by the Japanese military during World War II.

Women served an important role in WWII. They not only took the challenge and stepped up to take the places of the men off fighting in the war to work in factories, but they also fought side by side with those risking their lives and fighting for their country. They were needed everywhere during the war. There were an unbelievable amount of job opportunities for women during the war and many supported the brave acts of voluntary enlistment. “‘A woman’s place is in the home’ was an old adage, but it still held true at the start of World War II. Even though millions of women worked, home and family we considered the focus of their lives” says Brenda Ralf Lewis. Without the help of those women who were brave enough to

The role of woman in World War Two was an essential behind the scenes effort. Just as a cameraman is essential to the making of a movie the roles women played in the war was essential to our allied victory. In the war women provided food, clothing, funds, medical work, safety, knowledge and a safe and secure country to return to at the end of the war effort. All the help provided by women gave helped prove gender equality can work in society and helped lead to women's rights in our county.

After getting an education as well as knowing there worth in society women knew there were more than just a wife and mother. During WWII women demonstrated their power to think in a world without men as they were off fighting the war. Women began to understand that they had more to offer the world other than housekeeping and raising children. In addition, many women wanted to continue working after the war as they had held jobs with responsibilities as well as earning wages. Furthermore, women were the ones making financial decisions as well as working in positions with higher responsibilities. Many women as well as minorities were simply casted a side to make room for the returning solders. This created a silent discontent among women

December 7, 1941 was the day when America declared war, but it was also the years following that women had the chance to show their patriotism in a way they never had before; working outside of their homes. World War II was a chance to contribute to what was needed most, the war efforts. In a dire situation that is War, women moved from their homes help the America for the better of society and their husbands off at war.

Japanese military leaders formulated the concept of comfort women in order to stop soldiers from committing sexual violence towards women they might encounter. Japanese Lieutenant-General Okamura Yasuji proposed that comfort women should be shipped to Shanghai to solve the problem of 223 rapes reportedly committed by troops there (Kim). One former comfort woman reported that in some places, soldiers were so desperate for some kind of outlet for their sexual desires that they had intercourse with dogs (Kim in Schellstede 32). It is estimated that over 125 million forced sexual acts took place between Japanese soldiers and comfort women in the span of only five years (Kim). The Japanese military made soldiers pay to have sex with comfort women. The prices were as follows: 1.50 yen for privates, 2 yen for non-commissioned officers, 2.50 yen for junior officers, and 3 yen for senior officers (Hicks 19). Concerned for the health of their soldiers, Japanese military leaders provided condoms to thwart the spread of any sexually transmitted diseases; however, these condoms were often

Who were the “Comfort Women”? According to the Digital Museum, The Comfort Women Issue and the Asian Women's Fund, “The so-called "wartime comfort women" were those who were taken to former Japanese military installations, such as comfort stations, for a certain period during wartime in the past and forced to provide sexual services to officers and soldiers.” Young teenage girls were kidnapped or lured with false promises of the employment in their homelands of China, Indonesia, the Philippines and North and South Korea. They were sent to brothels to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers, and held for months or even years. According to the testimony of Seo-Woon Chung, one of the victims, one day, her father was taken to the prison because he was against the Japanese government. A few days later, the town foreman came to her house and told her that her father would be released from