A documentary about Taiwanese women who were forced to be sex slaves by Japan in World War II will be released on Friday. August 14 is the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women. Comfort women has been the euphemism used for these victims.
The documentary was produced by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation. The foundation has supported comfort women through therapy and helping them to seek an apology and compensation from Japan. Song of the Reed depicts how 6 grandmothers have dealt with the trauma of being forced to be sex slaves for the Japanese. The movie displays their journey and how healing has been possible as they’ve learned how to accept themselves.
The foundation says only 4 of Taiwan’s comfort women who have spoken openly about their suffering are still living and they are in their 90s. Foundation director Kang Shu-hua speaks about the film.
Kang said, "Basically they are living survivors. They have been through much pain, but they also have had times of happiness [in their lives]. It is possible for them to be healed. We hope that this documentary can enable the audience to think about comfort women and what they bring to the history of Taiwanese women’s wounds."
The foundation says that more than 2,000 Taiwanese women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.