Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa
Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa
Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa
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160 <strong>Myth</strong>, protest <strong>and</strong> struggle <strong>in</strong> Ok<strong>in</strong>awa<br />
was also yelled at by a male activist at a march <strong>in</strong> front of the Kadena Air Base:<br />
‘Don’t try to trivialize th<strong>in</strong>gs by mak<strong>in</strong>g this all <strong>in</strong>to a “violation of women’s human<br />
rights”; the important issue here is the Security Treaty!’ (Takazato 1995a: 3).<br />
Takazato reflects:<br />
In the past, Ok<strong>in</strong>awan reversion activists used to say, ‘Ok<strong>in</strong>awa is a pa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
the little f<strong>in</strong>ger of a body of Japan’ to describe how the suffer<strong>in</strong>g of Ok<strong>in</strong>awans<br />
was ignored by the Japanese. But I have always wondered, <strong>in</strong> that ‘pa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
the little f<strong>in</strong>ger’, how much of the women’s pa<strong>in</strong> has been represented? It is<br />
difficult for people to underst<strong>and</strong> that women’s human rights are a political<br />
issue, because there are always ‘bigger’ ‘more important’ issues. Prostitution<br />
has always been a social issue, but not presented to the public <strong>in</strong> the same<br />
way as the compulsory military occupation of l<strong>and</strong>, or US plane crashes.<br />
(Interview, March 1999)<br />
The above reflections highlight the fact that the idea of an Ok<strong>in</strong>awan struggle itself<br />
has been male-centred, <strong>and</strong> also that a rather conservative culture exists <strong>in</strong> the<br />
community of protest that tends to resist newcomers <strong>and</strong> drastically novel ideas. 17<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, however, the type of criticism Yui <strong>and</strong> Takazato heard on ‘reduc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
everyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to women’s issues’ is hardly ever found today. Male activists <strong>in</strong><br />
political parties, unions or <strong>in</strong>formal protest groups praise the public presence <strong>and</strong><br />
pro-activeness demonstrated by the Ok<strong>in</strong>awan women after the rape <strong>in</strong>cident, with<br />
a gratitude for ‘energiz<strong>in</strong>g’ the community of protest as well as advanc<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational profile of the ‘Ok<strong>in</strong>awan’ – though not women’s – problem. ‘Women’<br />
have been normalized <strong>in</strong> the community of protest; they are now ‘usual suspects’<br />
at protest scenes <strong>in</strong> Ok<strong>in</strong>awa.<br />
An OWAAMV member Utsumi (1996) contends that (men’s) praise for women’s<br />
movement is often a cover-up of the still marg<strong>in</strong>alized women’s position <strong>in</strong> society.<br />
Surpris<strong>in</strong>gly low priority is given to women’s right to safety from sexual violence<br />
<strong>in</strong> Ok<strong>in</strong>awan public policy today. In 2001, REIKO, the first rape crisis centre ever<br />
<strong>in</strong> Ok<strong>in</strong>awa, <strong>and</strong> the product of the lobby<strong>in</strong>g of the Beij<strong>in</strong>g Delegate’s request,<br />
could operate only six hours a week ow<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>sufficient fund<strong>in</strong>g from the<br />
Prefecture. 18 The OWAAMV members have cont<strong>in</strong>ued protest activities aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
military violence <strong>and</strong> the patriarchal society that marg<strong>in</strong>alizes gender issues.<br />
Because of the dishonour associated with ‘be<strong>in</strong>g the rape victim’, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
system’s lack of protection of victims’ rights <strong>and</strong> privacy, the official statistics on<br />
rape grossly underrepresent the actual rape cases <strong>in</strong> Ok<strong>in</strong>awa. From her experience<br />
as a women’s counsellor, Takazato is conv<strong>in</strong>ced that at least 90 per cent of women<br />
do not press charges for fear of <strong>in</strong>vestigation <strong>and</strong> humiliation <strong>in</strong> court (Interview,<br />
March 1996). When asked by foreign journalists about the figure, the OWAAMV<br />
members were frustrated with the official figure (110 cases s<strong>in</strong>ce 1972), which did<br />
not represent the reality. An important ongo<strong>in</strong>g project of the OWAAMV has been<br />
to collect more correct statistics on US military-related sexual violence <strong>in</strong> postwar<br />
Ok<strong>in</strong>awa, rely<strong>in</strong>g on oral history <strong>and</strong> biographical records kept at the community<br />
levels, such as town <strong>and</strong> village libraries.