Comfort women an awkward issue<\/p>\n
Leo Wahyudi S., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's plan to introduce the issue of World War II
\n\"comfort women\" to the school curriculum has failed to impress
\nteachers.<\/p>\n
Advocates suggest the move will open students' eyes to a
\npreviously hidden episode of the war, while critics say they do
\nnot see any benefit in \"opening up old wounds\".<\/p>\n
More conservative teachers are already feeling embarrassed
\nimagining how they will explain the concept of sexual slavery to
\ntheir teenage students.<\/p>\n
The term \"comfort women\", or jugun ianfu as the Japanese call
\nthem, refers to the thousands of women forced by occupying
\nJapanese forces to become sexual slaves in military camps across
\nAsia between 1942 and 1945.<\/p>\n
Indonesian women were among those enslaved and survivors, with
\nthe help of non-governmental organizations, have been pressing
\nthe Japanese government for compensation.<\/p>\n
Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar raised a
\nnumber of eyebrows when he announced he had accepted a proposal
\nby the Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (LBH) to
\nhave the subject of jugun ianfu included in school curriculums.<\/p>\n
LBH, representing 1,156 former comfort women from Yogyakarta
\nand Central Java, is also seeking the government's recognition of
\njugun ianfu as heroes of the Independence Struggle.<\/p>\n
For Nanang Kurniawan, a history teacher at Sekolah Global Jaya
\nin Bintaro, Tangerang, the introduction of jugun ianfu to the
\ncurriculum will be a good thing because the tragedy has always
\nbeen covered up by Japan and swept under the carpet by Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But he wonders if the inclusion of the war time sex slavery
\nissue will offend contemporary Japan.<\/p>\n
Strong objections have come from J. Drost, a noted
\neducationist. He sees no urgent need to put the issue on the new
\nschool curriculum, which will come into effect next year.<\/p>\n
\"Not at any level of schooling. What moral values can the
\nstudents possibly learn from being taught about sex slavery?\" he
\nasks.<\/p>\n
\"I suspect that the inclusion of jugun ianfu on the curriculum
\nwas driven by a mere vendetta. So opening up old wounds to the
\nstudents won't do any good. Let bygones be bygones.\"<\/p>\n
A. Joko Widodo, the principal of SLTP Tarakanita Gading
\nSerpong in Tangerang, says he is opposed to the plan to discuss
\ncomfort women as part of the national curriculum.<\/p>\n
\"What if students became hostile toward the Japanese, the same
\nway people are now harboring anti-American sentiments (in the
\nwake of the Afghan attacks)?\" he says.<\/p>\n
Not only that, he also theorizes that the interest groups
\nbacking the plan will exploit the issue for their own political
\nand economic gain.<\/p>\n
If they must discuss the comfort women issue in the classroom,
\nteachers will have to be careful to convey the message of the
\nlesson clearly without delving into the complex sexual and moral
\nfactors that the issue raises.<\/p>\n
The same advice comes from G. Budyanto Nugroho, a teacher at
\nSt. Louis 1 High School in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Sexuality is still generally seen as a taboo topic in schools,
\nhe says. He proposes that the topic of jugun ianfu be made
\noptional, not compulsory, and suggests that every school should
\nhave the freedom to discuss it.<\/p>\n
Heri Herdiawanto, a teacher at SMU Al Azhar Jakarta, says that
\nthe subject could easily result in the growth of inaccurate
\npublic opinion about the Japanese and fan anti-Japanese sentiment
\nif not properly handled.<\/p>\n
He says the lesson that should be drawn from the episode of
\nthe war time comfort women is to respect human rights. The
\ncurriculum should be prepared by ulemas and academics, not only
\nbureaucrats.<\/p>\n
The biggest concern about the plan is, in fact, how to present
\nthe subject without embarrassing the teenage students and their
\nteachers.<\/p>\n
Endah Rukmini is a history teacher at SLTP Negeri 1 Turi, a
\nstate junior high school in Sleman, near Yogyakarta. She says
\nthat discussing sexuality in the classroom is still taboo.<\/p>\n
She says introducing the jugun ianfu subject could be
\ninappropriate, at least at the third year grade of the junior
\nhigh school.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/comfort-women-an-awkward-issue-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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