'Jungun Ianfu' to enter curriculum

YOGYAKARTA: Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar has accepted a proposal by the Yogyakarta branch of the Legal Aid Institute to include the issue of jungun ianfu (sex slaves) during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945 in the school curriculum.

Head of the ministry's research and development agency Boediono said in a statement that the issue of the exploitation of women as sex objects by Japanese soldiers would be included in the curricula for certain subjects.

The material will be taught to students from the elementary level up to the senior high school level, Boediono said as quoted by Antara.

He further said that the ministry was currently conducting research on the issue of sex slaves.

He said it was important to expose the truth about the Jungun Ianfu issue as some people simply considered these women to be prostitutes, while actually what they did was far from being of their own free will.

"To enrich the study of history, we will also try to ask some of the former Jungun Ianfu to testify for the books," the official stated. -- Antara