Common problem

On August 14, 1991, South Korean "comfort women" victim Kim Hak-soon came forward to expose the "comfort women" system to the world. This serious violation of women's human rights during World War II was made public to the world.Taipei  Women's Rescue Foundation established a complaint hotline for "comfort women" victims in 1992, which was the beginning of Taiwan's "comfort women" human rights movement.

Through the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation's complaint hotline and experts and scholars through phone calls, interviews, and data comparisons, a total of 59 victims were confirmed to have served as "comfort women."

The last remaining former Taiwanese "comfort woman" grandmother in Taiwan known to the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation was called by the Lord on the evening of May 10, 2023, and died at the age of 92.

In 1999, the Women's Aid Society led nine representatives of Taiwan's "comfort women" victims to file a cross-border lawsuit at the Tokyo Court in Japan. After the first trial in 2002, the second trial in 2004, and the third trial in 2005, the lawsuit was finally lost. "Comfort women" survivors from other countries eventually lost their lawsuits against Japan.

Although most of the "comfort women" grandmothers have died, the Women's Aid Association still expresses its demands to the Japanese government through organizing "814 International Comfort Women Memorial Day" protests and other activities every year, and also continues to work with other "comfort women" victims International support groups in the country.

It is hoped that there will be a permanent museum that can preserve and display the historical materials of "comfort women" and the life stories of survivors, so that the public can see the courage and strength shown by the grandmothers beyond the trauma, and continue to think and pay attention to contemporary women's human rights issues, so that "grandmothers can "Ma's Family" has become a platform for dialogue with the public and education for the next generation.

In 2016, the Women's Aid Society went through many twists and turns in the process of preparing the museum. Finally, we relied on our own efforts to find a century-old building in Dadaocheng, Taipei, because several "comfort women" grandmothers lived in Dadaocheng when they were young. I lived near Cheng, and there happened to be a dove wall of peace in this building, which was in line with the spirit that "Grandma's Family" wanted to convey, so I rented this building as the venue for "Grandma's Family". Due to the impact of finance, the epidemic, and the expiration of the lease, the old museum in Dadaocheng reluctantly announced its temporary closure on November 7, 2020.

In 2021, Grandma's House will reopen at the new site, using the name "Grandma's House-Peace and Women's Human Rights Hall". Like the old hall, it is located in Datong District. This area is the earliest developed area in Taipei, such as Dihua Street, Confucius Temple, and Baoan Temple are all located here, and Dadaocheng is even more prosperous. It is particularly meaningful for Grandma’s family to reopen to the public in this gathering place full of history and culture.

"A bruised reed he will not break; a smoldering wick he will not quench." Matthew 12:20. The "Comfort Women" documentary "Song of the Reed" produced by the Women's Aid Society in 2013 uses the "perseverance" quality of the "reed" plant to symbolize the strong, brave spirit of the grandmothers who speak out for women's human rights. Therefore, when the museum was established, this concept was continued.

"Comfort women" is a term coined by the Japanese army during World War II to glorify the use of women as sex slaves. However, "comfort women" are different from other women who became war sex slaves. They were the result of Japan's systematic intervention with national power. and management, has its unique nature and historical significance. Therefore, we will add upper and lower quotation marks when using it to indicate that this is a special proper noun.

South Korea uses the statue of a "comfort woman" girl as a spiritual symbol of its protest demands, but the practices of other countries may not be the same. We believe that commemorating grandma can take many forms, and a statue is not the only option. The Women's Aid Society established the "Grandma's Home" to commemorate the grandmothers, and also integrated issues such as gender equality and women's human rights to further promote human rights education.