KITAKYUSHU FORUM ON ASIAN WOMEN FEBRUARY 2009

WOMEN TODAY

CURRENT ISSUES SERIES
THE 19th KITAKYUSHU CONFERENCE ON ASIAN WOMENCOMMEMORATIVE LECTURE
ON KFAW’S 15th ANNIVERSARYFORMER FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS
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THE FORUM WINDOWINFORMATION



NO.

55

FEBRUARY 2009

Mieko NISHIMIZU
Former Vice President,
The World Bank Group
Partner,ThinkTank SophiaBank

How we think about what we doing wood. She unloads, squats on the earth floor, motionless as if dead. She is barely twenty, but alreadyheavy with child.
The chance of miscarriage is 30% among Indian
women who spend six hours each day collecting fueland fetching water. An abnormally high incidence ofuterine prolapse is also linked to the heavy load bearing work. Stillbirth doubles the normal rate among
pregnant women exposed to kitchen smoke. Thesecannot be prevented by health sector assistance. The
healing power lies in electricity.
One cannot translate into money the cost of human life or suffering from disease. But, even smokeless stoves can save about USD50 to USD100 per person per year. Switching to electricity doubles this saving to about USD100 to USD200. The economic impact would be enormous, not just in India that harbors a lion’s share of the world’s poor, but among all
developing nations.
Indoor pollution kills. This discovery is causing asignificant shift in the standards against which one
evaluates social benefits of electricity power development. It was a World Bank team, composed of medical experts, economists, engineers, etc., who focused on
the issue.
The discovery was the outcome of a multidisciplinary teamwork driven by a shared passion. But, it
was possible because the team was gender balanced.
After all, it was a woman leader who personally experienced the devil lurking in the smoke, and moved
the organization to engage because it was a matter oflife and death.
To overlook half the human race is no different
from a mental handicap. The day will surely comewhen we can all laugh at our own stupidity.
It is not what we do, but how we think about
what we do. It is this difference that moves organizations, changes nation states, and even saves human
lives.

True teamwork makes 1 plus 1 greater than 2.
The power of gender-balanced teams is even greater.
Different perspectives between women and men complement each other, enable holistic and innovative
work, and facilitate the growth of enterprising teams.
This is one merit of ending discrimination
against women’s participation in social and economic
activities outside the home. The logic is simple. But,no organizations move in earnest unless top leadership’s head and heart are connected. A shortcut is forthe leadership to experience it, but such opportunities are rare in workplace where women are few.
An international aid group dominated by maleculture once asked me to help break this vicious circle. I shared with them my experience at the World
Bank, which led to some good outcomes. Below is anexcerpt from what I said to this group.
The development challenge we confront today lies
not in what we do, but in how we think about what
we do.
In your work that concerns energy, what image
do you associate with the word electricity? (... flip of alight switch ... power station ... solar power ...) Indeed... there is not even a shadow of a woman in your image! (Laughter)
Let me take you to her.
Deep inside rural India, we are in a thatched
mud house. It is pitch dark inside but for the dim
glow and flicker of a wood fire. A shadow squats
deeply in raging smoke. Comforting a baby on her
back, she is busy pummeling dough, slapping a flatround of it onto the wall of her stove, stirring a sizzling pot. The baby cannot stop his little cough. She
pats his back as he cries in distress. A coughing fit attacks her too. She turns to us, and smiles ambiguously. Her eyes are bloodshot, her cheeks chapped raw
from constant tears...
Indoor air pollution is a cause of death far more
serious than any disease. It kills about two million
women and children in the developing world every
year. In rural India, infants strapped to their mothers’ back over smoky stoves are found to be 6 times
more likely to develop an acute respiratory tract infection than those protected from smoke. Shifting fromfuel wood to electricity halves the mortality rate ofchildren under five.
A skinny girl comes in with more wood, balancing one bundle on her head, and another on her hip.
She walked for hours under the scorching sun collect-

No.55 February 2009

Profile of Mieko Nishimizu
Mieko Nishimizu is a partner at ThinkTank SofiaBank, whichaims to build new social systems through the development ofsocial entrepreneurs. Having taught economics at Princeton
University, she joined the World Bank Group in 1980 and worked
on various structural adjustment issues. She was the Vice
President responsible for the South Asia Region for six years,
before leaving the World Bank in 2003. Aside from South Asia,
her assignments took her to countries such as China, Egypt,
Hungary, Thailand, and Turkey.

1Current Issues SeriesProfileYoko TSURUGI worked with public health programs in

Gender-Sensitive
Measures toPrevent HIV/AIDS

Myanmar as an NGO doctor. In Cambodia, as anexpert in co-infections of tuberculosis and HIV, she
was involved in the anti-tuberculosis project of theJapan International Cooperation Agency. She is

Part1
Disease and Society

currently a clinician in Kitakyushu, and is engaged in

Yoko TSURUGI

various public health programs in and outside Japan,

Medical Staff, International Programs,
Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association
Obstetrics and gynecology physician

including anti-HIV/AIDS and TB programs, and theWhat do you think of when you hear the term antiHIV/AIDS measures?

promotion of reproductive health/rights.

risky behavior, such as sexual contact without using
a condom, or sharing drug needles or syringes. These
groups often suffer prejudice and discriminationfrom the mainstream of their respective societies.
Moreover, in some regions, prostitution, homosexual
behavior and drug abuse are strictly banned by laws
and/or religious codes. As a result, many of those
who are the most vulnerable to HIV infection are
obliged to live in shadowy areas of society. In suchan environment, it is extremely difficult for thesevulnerable groups to access current anti-HIV/AIDS
programs, since they are available basically inilluminated areas of society.

Since HIV/AIDS is a disease, one is most likely tothink of medical tests and treatments, which areprovided by and within medical institutions. To
detect HIV infection, a blood test is usually
performed. If the result is positive, more tests are
conducted to determine conditions of the individual’s
immune system and the amount of the virus in the
body. Depending on the test results, the patient isgiven anti-HIV drugs. Large medical equipment is
not necessary for blood tests and administering antiHIV drugs. Accordingly, treatment is available not
only in advanced countries, but also in an increasing
number of developing countries. In Cambodia in
2007, for example, where I stayed for two and a halfyears from the end of 2005, there were nearly 200
Voluntary Confidentially HIV Counseling and Testing
centers and nearly 50 medical institutions thatprovided HIV/AIDS treatment. In that year, antiHIV drugs were administered to at least 26,000
people in that country.

Among those vulnerable groups, let us consider
CSW. You may feel that to avoid the risk of HIV
infection, CSW should find another kind ofoccupation. Many CSW, however, due to extreme
poverty, have no option but to engage in the sex
business. Some cannot stop working because of debt.
This is particularly true in societies where women’ssocial status is low, or where girls are not given
adequate education. If CSW cannot take up adifferent kind of work, you might feel that at least
they should use condoms. Constant use of condoms,
however, is not as easy for them as you may suppose.
Many male customers would rather avoid using
condoms, and when sex business managers are noteager to prevent HIV infection, female CSW must
buy condoms with their own money. Still worse,many women without education do not know basic
facts about the risk of sexual contact or theeffectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV infection.
There are so many challenges to address, even when
we limit the scope of problems to those of CSW.

My next question is whether or not establishing test
and treatment systems at medical institutions canstop the spread of HIV. The answer is “No.” Even in
Japan, the number of HIV patients is increasing
steadily. Moreover, many of those infected with HIV
are unaware of their infection; many do not go tohospitals until they develop symptoms (suffer from
AIDS). These facts clearly indicate that antiHIV/AIDS measures should be taken both inside andoutside medical institutions. In addition to tests andtreatments, the social environment of patients
comprises an essential factor in determining the
success or failure of initiatives to prevent HIV/AIDS.
In this article, I would like to discuss therelationship between gender and anti-HIV/AIDS
measures.

Many individuals assume that only specific groups
are vulnerable, and that they themselves are
therefore safe from HIV infection. If people adhere tosuch assumptions, and if national governments
maintain a similar approach to infection,
governments are unlikely to take effective measures
to prevent HIV/AIDS in the early stage of theepidemic, that is, when the risk is relatively limited
to most vulnerable groups. However, it is essential totake effective measures while the plague is in its
early stage, since HIV is likely to spread, infecting
many more people outside these most vulnerable
groups.

HIV is spread most often through unprotected sex
with an infected partner or through sharing ofcontaminated needles or syringes. In other words,
HIV is transmitted by human behavior. In any
society, HIV infection first spreads among
vulnerable groups, most notably Commercial Sex
Workers (CSW), Men Sex with Men and Intravenous
Drug Users, since such individuals often engage in2

No.55 February 2009

The

19

th

Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women
Eat the Earth, Eat on the Earth
The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) held the 19th Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women on
November 15 and 16 2008 at the Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center MOVE under the theme “Eat the
Earth, Eat on the Earth.”

Program

November

15

November

16

Panel Discussion “Eat the Earth, Eat on the Earth”
Workshops & The Japan-Korea International SeminarWorkshops from the Gender Perspective
1 “Food Today and Our Future”
2 “Power to Recover ‘Our Food’: How to Overcome Food Imbalances”
3 “Flying Foods”
The Japan-Korea International Seminar“Female International Migrants’ Current Status of Cultural Conflicts and
Health Problems in Japan and ROK”
International Symposium“Families Now in East Asia: Work, Marriage, Child Care, and Care for the Elderly”
Reports on KFAW Research Activities

Panel Discussion “Eat the Earth, Eat on the Earth”

First, Sachiko Tabara explained the commitments ofher organization, Green Co-op Fukuoka.

Coordinator
Etsuko KITA

As part of Green Co-op’s commitment to providing safer
food items, we place the utmost priority on mothers’
perspectives. After giving birth to my own child, I truly
realized that children grow by eating food. Indeed, it isfood that builds our bodies and nourishes our lives.

President, The Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing
Advisor, Japan Association for the United Nations World Food Programme

Panelists
Ramesh JAIN
Former Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Sachiko TABARA

However, since the period of high economic growth inJapan from the mid 1950s to the early 1970s, people
have placed high priority on economic efficiency. As forfood, people place higher priority on ease of cooking,convenience, long durability, and low prices. As a result,food is being mass-produced and mass consumed. Yet, at
our Green Co-op, we are committed to the “Safe-Food
Campaign for Bringing Up Our Lives,” an activity todevelop food items that truly nourish our bodies. In thisproject, we are developing wholesome, healthy foods
through discussions with producers: vegetables grownwithout using or with limited use of pesticides, livestockraised with natural feed in a favorable breeding
environment, and food items processed without using orwith controlled use of additives.

President, Green Co-op Fukuoka

Mihee HONG
Director, Incheon Gender Policy Center

Japanese consumers have become seriously concerned about the quality of the food they eat because ofmany recent problems related to food safety, including
pesticide residues, bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE), deceptive labeling of food origins, and chemical
contamination. As well, people in developing countries
have long been suffering from the
spread of serious
famines, indicatingthat imbalances in
global food resources
persist.

In this project, we are also committed to realizing NorthSouth coexistence. Some 20 years ago, we learned that afamine on Negros Island in the Philippines was related
to the “gourmet boom” in Japan. We realized that under
the present economic system, people living in the Northare exploiting people in the South, degrading theirnatural environment, affecting their livelihoods and evendepriving them of their very lives. To help the Negros
islanders suffering from the famine, we commenced

Panelists

At the panel discussion with Etsuko Kita as thecoordinator, three panelists gave presentations fromgender-sensitive perspectives. The panelists discussed
recent problems related to the safety of daily foods andthe worsening imbalances in global food resources.

No.55 February 20093

importing Balangon bananas, a kind of banana thatsatisfies the Japanese palate but is seldom eaten by theislanders themselves. In farming villages on Negros
Island, women began shipping Balangon bananas.
Together with young islanders, the women played
leading roles in developing their communities. Currently,
in collaboration with the islanders, we are working tocreate various other job opportunities for local people too,
including the processing of agricultural products otherthan bananas.

Although it will take a little more time before we canconfirm the actual results of this change, I believe that
achieving gender equality in the agricultural sector will
be effective not only in raising agricultural productivity,
but also in overcoming the poverty of women in farming
villages.

Following Jain, Mihee Hong gave a presentation aboutfood and gender issues in the Republic of Korea.
Few politicians of the Republic of Korea paid attention tofood problems during the 1980s. In 1989, a privateorganization called Minuhwe established a Coop as away to organize housewives, whom the organizationconsidered as potential players essential for reflecting
people’s daily concerns in policymaking. As a consumers’community, the Coop began purchasing green products
and wholesome foods. At the same time, the Coop also
provided housewives with opportunities to discussvarious problems related to their daily lives and to seek
solutions.

Next, Ramesh Jain gave a presentation about problems of agricultural resources from gender-sensitive
perspectives.
Food security has become an increasingly serious
problem due to global environmental degradation, world
economic problems, and many other factors. In thisenvironment, the key to food security is increasing
domestic food production.
Women play essential roles in increasing food production
since women produce about half the global agricultural
output. Women’s contribution is particularly high in
Africa, where at least 80% of food output is produced by
women. Despite these facts, women’s roles are usually
underestimated or even ignored. As a result, womencomprise 70% of the poor population in farming villages.
Even in agricultural countries, only 4% of Official
Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to theagricultural sector. Of the fraction allocated to this
sector, only 10% or less is allocated to gender-sensitive
projects.

During the 1990s, famines in North Korea became aserious problem for the divided nation. Despite thedetente on the Korean Peninsula, it has not been easy forSouth Korean NGOs to help people in North Korea whoare suffering from hunger. Whereas politicians wereconcerned about national security, from a mother’s
standpoint women’s groups advocated saving starving
children, regardless of differences in ideology.
In the Republic of Korea, another food-related problem
that triggered nationwide debate was the import ofAmerican beef. In fear of BSE, Candle demonstrations
against importing American beef were held from May
to August 2008. Among the leading participants ofthese quiet demonstrations were mothers who joined
the event by pushing baby carriages. These mothers,
the majority of whom had never joined ademonstration before, decided to rise together bycommunicating via the Internet, in order to protect
their families from the risk of BSE.

Ignoring women’s contributions incurs considerable
costs. In Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, forinstance, agricultural output is predicted to grow by 10 to
20% if men and women equally share agricultural
resources, such as farmlands and fertilizers. In
Honduras, Nepal, the Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa
and Zambia, agricultural productivity and farmers’
incomes are estimated to increase sharply only if women
are involved in the development and field tests of new
agricultural technologies (diversification of crop varieties,
development of small cultivators and other agricultural
machines, etc.) By helping women engaged in agriculture
maximize their potential, we can increase foodproduction. This in turn will enhance food security, andwhat’s more, will benefit women in the agricultural
sector.

It has not been easy, however, protecting families fromcontaminated foods and securing food safety only
through such grassroots women’s activities because
nowadays foods are supplied through global networks. To
enhance food safety, it is vitally important to build aglobal network under which people from different
countries can discuss and act together in order toinfluence various national governments, internationalorganizations, and NGOs.

A major program currently implemented in India
empowers women in the agricultural sector, thereby
enhancing women’s social status. One of the targets ofthis program is to allow women to gain the right toassets and property, such as farmlands, which had
been dominated by men until recently. Unless womencan control assets equally with men, women’s labor
will not bear fruit. As a result of the program, the land
registration system has changed to allow bothhusband and wife to register as landowners, while in
the past only men were registered as farmland owners.

Finally, as the coordinator of the panel discussion, Kita
summarized the discussions in the following statement: “In discussions about food safety, securing sufficient volumes of food is an important issue. In this respect, although situations differ greatly between advanced and developing countries, we must be awarethat famines are tormenting people on the planet. We
must also recognize the ongoing food safety problem.
Although this problem appears to be less dramatic

4

No.55 February 2009

than armed conflicts or natural
catastrophes, and therefore lessnoticeable, the food safety problem is expanding slowly andquietly. Many people are unlikely to recognize the magnitude of
the problem until it becomes irreparable. Yet, it is imperative
Etsuko Kita
that we address the problem atthis moment, because it affects the next generation andinjures their reproductive health. In this respect, weshould reconsider even more seriously women’s roles,
since women are essentially responsible for the reproduction of the entire human race. We must also think
more seriously about food businesses and ways to ensure their continuous and appropriate operation. Foodsafety is such a critical issue that we should do something more than simply demand related enterprises tofulfill their responsibilities.”

about the worsening famines in the world by taking
part in role-playing and simulating the daily lives of apoor family in a farming village in a developing
country.

3 “Flying Foods”
Facilitators
Participants of KFAW College SeminarWorkshop 3, whose
main topic was foodself-sufficiency rates,waschairedbyparticipants of the
facilitator
training
seminar held by KFAW.
As workshop facilitators,
they practiced what they learned during the seminar.
Focusing on ingredients in daily meals, workshop
participants held lively discussions concerning thepotential impact of an increase in Japan’s food selfsufficiency rate on Japanese families, communities,
regions, and the world economy.

Workshops from the Gender Perspective
Following the panel discussion, workshops were held tofurther discuss food-related problems from various
viewpoints.

The Japan-Korea International Seminar“Female International Migrants’ Current Status of Cultural
Conflicts and Health Problems in Japan and ROK”
For people living in foreign countries, it is importantand challenging to adapt themselves to the cultures of
their host countries while also maintaining their own
cultural identities. What particular cultural and social
aspects influence immigrants? Does the unavailabilityof food items familiar to them dramatically influence
their quality of life? To discuss these issues, thisseminar was held jointly with the Chungnam Women’s
Policy Development Institute (CWPDI) in the Republicof Korea.

1 “Food Today and Our Future”
Facilitators
Mayumi YONEMITSU
Nursing Teacher, Nishinippon Institute of Technology
Member of Kanda-machi Council for Gender Equality

Sachi ONO
Senior, Faculty of Engineering, Nishinippon Institute of Technology

Asuka SHIKAI
Junior, Faculty of Engineering, Nishinippon Institute of Technology

Ryoko HAYASHI
Sophomore, Faculty of Design, Nishinippon Institute of Technology

College students introduced their activities,
entitled “Food Workshop
of College Students, byCollege Students, andfor College Students,”
also known as obento-nohi (boxed lunch day). Based on the experiences gained
through the activities, participants discussed various
topics from their original perspectives, including foodsafety, men’s cooking and gender-based roles. Discussions
were held with participants following the students’presentations.

Coordinator
Chung Nam CHO
Professor, Department of Politics, Korea University

Presenters
Yong-Joo KIM
Researcher, CWPDI

Yuko OHARA-HIRANO
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medical Science, Kyushu University

Discussants
Yukari YAMASHITA
Representative, Global Life Support Center

Kyoung-Hee MOON
Researcher, CWPDI

2 “Power to Recover ‘Our Food’: How to Overcome Food Imbalances”
Among the various
problems resulting
from immigration
and adaptation to
the cultures of hostcountries are problems
related to cooking
and eating. Many non-Korean women who married
Korean men and who are living in the Republic ofKorea have been assimilating Korean culinary culture.

Facilitator
Daisuke FUJII
Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Relations,
Kyushu International University

Because of food shortages,
over 800 million people
around the world are
currently suffering frommalnutrition. Workshop 2
invited participants to think

No.55 February 20095

Yet, they also try to use the foodstuffs of their homecountries in Korean dishes, or cook their homecountries’ dishes using locally available ingredients.
Sometimes, these women gather together to dine,appreciating their home countries’ delicacies. They also
use such human networks to exchange and sharefoodstuffs of their home countries.

“Marriages in Contemporary Japan and Issues ofWork-life Balance”
Masami SHINOZAKI Chief Researcher, KFAW

Reports on KFAW Research Activities
Chaired by Yukiko
ODA (KFAW chief
researcher), a KFAW
researcher and several
visiting researchersreported the results of
their research activities
and discussed them with participants.

For immigrants, such networks of people from theirhome countries play an essential role in sustaining
their physical and mental health since the networks
can provide them with opportunities to exchange
information and encourage each other.

KFAW established its visiting researcher programwith the aim of reinforcing KFAW’s research activities.
Since April 2007, visiting researchers have focused on
their own research activities, whose themes differedfrom KFAW’s researchers. Since this is the second andfinal year of their tenure, the visiting researchers are
expected to present their reports to KFAW at the endof March 2009.

This seminar proved to be extremely rewarding forparticipants since they were able to deepen theirunderstanding about multicultural societies, and toseek ideal ways of creating multicultural, multiethnic
societies.

International Symposium“Families Now in East Asia: Work, Marriage, Child Care,and Care for the Elderly”
In the process of higheconomic growth andeconomic globalization,familystructures,functions and values
have been rapidlychanging in East Asia. From a number of issues
emerging from the change in the family, this
symposium particularly looked into women’s lifestyles
and life courses. Although different in stages anddegrees of change, East Asia has been undergoingsome similar trends: a decrease in birth rates, the issueof work-life balance, and an increase of cross-bordermarriages, as well as new types of care provision foraged parents. Participants exchanged expertise aboutchanges in the family in each country and area andaimed to identify appropriate policies and measures tograpple with the current family-related issues in theregion.

KFAW will publicize their detailed research reports on
its website as soon as they are finalized.
KFAW Visiting Researchers“A Comparative Case Study on the Promotion of Gender
Equality Policies: Evaluation on the Positive Action in
the Bidding System of Japanese Local Governments”
Harumichi YUASA
Vice President, Kyushu International University“Empirical Study on Community and Gender in Central
Asia: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz”
Junko OTANIAssociate Professor, Graduate School of Human Science,
Osaka University
Co-Researchers
Takuzo OSUGIAssistant Professor, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University

Asuka KAWANO“The Present Conditions of Nursing Care Policies forChildren: To Support Women’s Job Involvement”
HE Jian Hua

Assistant Researcher, Graduate School of Humanities andResearcher, Women’s Study Institute, All-China Women’s Federation“Gender Sensitive Budgeting: Issues and Approaches
in Japan, Korea and Taiwan”
Reina ICHII

Social Science, University of Tsukuba“Care of/by the Elderly Women and Family Relations:
Case of Shanghai”
GUI Shi Xun

Research Associate, Centre for Work and Life, University of South Australia
Co-Researcher
Yasuko MURAMATSU

Lifelong Professor, Institute of Population Study, East China Normal University“Family Changes in Korea and Care for the Elderly”
Seungah HONG

Professor-Emeritus, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University

KFAW Researcher“Eco-business by Women’s Groups in Gujarat, IndiaFrom the Perspective of ESD”
Masako OTA Senior Researcher, KFAW

Researcher, Korean Women’s Development Institute“Increase of International Marriage and its Problemsin Taiwan”
Hsiao Hung Nancy CHEN
Professor, Department of Sociology, National Chengchi University

6

No.55 February 2009#Commemorative Lecture on KFAW’s

The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) had the pleasure of inviting
Pawadee TONGUTHAI, an associate professor at Tammasat University,
Thailand, and former representative of the Asia Pacific Women’s Watch(APWW) as a guest speaker at the 15th anniversary of KFAW. In her
presentation, she discussed the results of various efforts to realize genderequality, indicators to show the achievement levels of these efforts, andremaining problems.

Gender Equality Indicators

Anniversary

Pawadee Tonguthai

their candidates. By allocating a specific ratio of seats
to women candidates after each election, the parties inthese countries enable women’s participation innational politics. Yet, increasing numbers of women’s
policymakers at the national level do not necessarily
result in enhanced women’s political influence.

Pawadee Tonguthai presented the following three
indicators to demonstrate progress in gender equality:
1) Levels of access to education and healthcare services
that ensure girls/women can enhance their abilities.
2) Levels of access to resources and opportunities thatenable girls/women to maximize their potential.
3) Levels of initiatives taken to protect women fromdomestic violence, primarily caused by theirhusband/partner’s feelings towards their income.

Remaining Problems
Despite numerous programs and the untiring efforts ofthe many parties concerned, many problems still
remain unsolved. First of all, stereotypic ideas hinder
women from gaining educational and job opportunities.
Moreover, in some cultures, people tend to invest in
boys’ rather than girls’ education.

According to Tonguthai, no society can be consideredgender-equal unless it has achieved satisfactory
success in these indicators.

Millennium Development Goal Indicators

The second problem is violence against women.
Although this problem has been known for years, theUnited Nations has begun to concern itself with thisproblem only recently.

As an urgent issue, the statement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), adopted by the United
Nations in 2000, specifies the achievement of genderequality in terms of education, employment andparticipation in policymaking. In terms of education, theMDGs statement emphasizes the need to eliminate
gender disparity in primary education. In the Asia-Pacificregion, many countries have already achieved this target.

Thirdly, we have to resolve problems relating to
women’s immigration. Nowadays, increasing numbersof women migrate in order to find better employment
opportunities. This has both positive and negative
aspects. Regarding the former, immigration can
provide women with more employment opportunities
and more income. Since many such women send money
back home, they can contribute to the national incomeof their home countries. On the other hand, many such
women migrate, leaving their children in their homecountries. Moreover, some women become victims ofhuman trafficking and other violent acts in hostcountries. At least 1.4 million women have been
trafficked for forced labor, and many of them havebecome sex workers.

As for employment, one of the MDG targets is toincrease the share of women in wage employment in
the non-agricultural sector, and the percentage ofwomen engaged in employment under legal andcontractual protection. In South Asia, driven by higheconomic growth and the development of new
industries, the percentage of paid women workers hasgrown sharply over the past 15 years. Yet, many
women are still faced with various problems in thelabor market, including limited opportunities to enter
various occupations, unequal promotion and lower
wages. These problems have stemmed from genderbased discrimination.

Our Tasks to Overcome the Problems
We must first eliminate gender-based stereotypicalideas that are deeply embedded in our societies. We
must also formulate adequate policies to control risks
involved in women’s immigration. Moreover, we must
seriously consider the merits and demerits ofglobalization and take initiatives to secure work andincome opportunities for women, as well as measures
to protect women from violence and other problems
related to their employment. Above all, we must study
and adopt comprehensive measures to promote genderequality, so as to build a truly gender-equal society.

Regarding women’s participation in policymaking, theworld’s average proportion of seats held by women innational parliaments remains at 14.9%, whereas theUnited Nations has set the target level at 30%. No
countries in the Asia-Pacific region fulfill this target
level. Yet, the rates of women policymakers are
relatively high in socialist countries, such as Vietnamand Laos. In these countries, political parties adopt a
quota system for proportional representation lists of

No.55 February 2009th7

Former Foreign Correspondents Visit Kitakyushu
In 1991, the Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) established the foreign correspondents system, under which
several members serve for one or more years in reporting on women’s situations in their respective countries. As of thisfiscal year, 236 correspondents from 34 countries have participated in the program. Among them, we had the pleasure of
welcoming Tehreem HASAN (Pakistan) and FAIROZ Ahmad (Singapore) to Kitakyushu City for six days in October 2008.
Oct.

16 (Thur.)

According to Fairoz, the Singaporean population, likethe population of Japan, is rapidly aging. Many elderly
women, particularly Malayan women, are sufferingfrom lifestyle-related diseases, due to a lack of exercise.
In his presentation, he introduced new sports programs for Malayan women in Singapore, the majorityof whom are Muslims. For these women, modern
sportswear that does not adequately cover the body
imposes a great challenge, along with the high exercise
stress of modern sports. Accordingly, a moderate-speed
dance program was created that allows dancers towear less revealing outfits. Today, many Malayan
women participate in the dance events, which are heldin parks and other public spaces. These events have
proven to be effective in promoting health.

Visit to Kitakyushu Municipal Mitsusada Elementary
School and Fukuoka Prefectural Mojigakuen High School
At Mitsusada Elementary School, Tehreem Hasan andFairoz Ahmad gave presentations about their respective countries to the third-year students. They also participated in calligraphy and physical education classes.
After having school lunch together with children, theylearned origami (the Japanese art of folding paper)from the children.

Finally, the coordinator, Professor Keiko ITANI of the
Kyoto University of Education, concluded that women’s
sports have been influenced by the religions and cultures of the respective countries, as well as by the stereotypical concept that men should be good at sports,
while women need not be.

Introduction of their countries at Mitsusada Elementary School

At Mojigakuen High School, the two correspondents
discussed school life and other topics with members of the
English Speaking Society (ESS). From the frank
discussion with the students, the visitors learned about
the Japanese educational system and students’ daily lives.
Oct.

17 (Fri.)

The visit to Kitakyushu, particularly the visit to the schools, was extremely rewarding for me. I willlong treasure the lovely origami andletters that the schoolchildren gave me. I am truly
pleased to have met with so many kind people. I willcertainly share my delightful experiences in Kitakyushu with my friends, colleagues and family. It is
my sincere hope that the students, women group members and other people I met with in Kitakyushu were
inspired by me as much as they have inspired me.

Visit to a women’s group

The two correspondents also gave presentations about
their countries to a women’s group. Following the lectures, members of the women’s group demonstrated
traditional Japanese household tools. The two guests inturn asked many questions to the women’s group members regarding their views on family and commitmentsin their respective communities. They were also deeply
impressed by the hearty welcome and the lunch thatthe women had prepared.
Oct.

18 (Sat.)Panel Discussion “Women’s Status in Sports: Pakistan,
Singapore and Japan”
During the panel discussion, Hasan explained about
the barriers that inhibit many Pakistani women fromparticipating in sports. In her opinion, since the great
majority of Pakistani people firmly believe that women’s primary tasks are raising children and doinghousehold chores, few women are allowed to enjoy
sports. Moreover, few businesses support women’s
sports, so a lack of funds adds another serious obstacle
to promoting women’s sports. To overcome these obstacles, she stated that the Pakistani people should firstcreate an educational system that enables women athletes to receive training while attending school.

At the panel discussion, I had an
opportunity to introduce our activities in Singapore. At the sametime, I was able to learn about
women’s situations in Japan and Pakistan, alongwith problems common to our three countries. We
were also able to discuss our respective cultures. I
was deeply impressed by the innocent schoolchildren,and by the courtesy and warm hospitality of the Japanese people who welcomed me wherever I visited.

8

No.55 February 2009

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ REPORTS 2008-2009(Access other foreign correspondents’ reports on a website: http://www.kfaw.or.jp/about/18-report.html.en)

The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl childVictimization of Women and Children in Nepal

Initially, the CPN-M enjoyed some popular support for theircauses particularly among the less-educated rural population,
many of whom had rare access to facilities such as education,
health, public system, etc. Later, the CPN-M gradually
increased the use of violence, intimidation and brutality
against men, women, children and elderly.

Bhawana UPADHYAY (Nepal)
The story of a woman being tortured by the Young
Communist League (YCL) cadre was the headline of the July11, 2008 issue of The Kathmandu Post, Nepal’s largest selling
daily newspaper published in English. YCL is the youth-based
sister organization of the Communist party of Nepal-Maoists(CPN-M). This incident exemplifies the prevalence of rampant
discrimination and violence against women and girls in Nepal
even after the CPN-M signed the peace agreement with theGovernment of Nepal (GON) in late 2006. Yet another heinous
act against women and girls in Nepal has prompted me toshed light through this report on the horrific violations of theirrights, particularly during the decade-long conflict.

The GON security systems, including the then Royal Nepal
Army (RNA), deployed to quell the violence proliferated by the
CPN-M, too had their own excuses for violating children’s
rights. According to the Informal Sector Service Centre Nepal(INSEC), a total of 286 children under the age of 17 years
were officially reported to have been killed by July 2004. This
included 161 children (105 boys and 56 girls) killed by thegovernment forces and 125 (96 boys and 29 girls) by the CPNM. Some children were even brutalized by both warring
factions.

Although the marginalization of women and children has
unfortunately been a part of life in Nepal due to age-old
patriarchal practices common throughout the country, theconflict fueled by the CPN-M was yet another key factor to
aggravate this reality. Although the CPN-M waged a civil war
in 1996 to secure the rights of all Nepalese people as theirmain slogan, they themselves have been failing to offer womenand children dignified, respectful and equal basic rights.

What could be the answer? As these violations are largely
related to behavioral and attitudinal issues, more intensified
efforts towards bringing about change from all parts of society
are needed especially from civil society, pressure groups andthe government. It is high time for Nepal-currently on theverge of writing the new Constitution-to rightly address thequestion of protecting the rights of women and children.

Looking into the Dark World of the Girl Childhousehold chores. But she died a year later. Mala was thencompelled to take care of all the household work and stop her
schooling. The family did not want the mother to return as sheearns money for the family.

Kanthi WIJETUNGE (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka is a country which has achieved good results in
reducing gender disparities. The 1978 Constitution has
guaranteed equal rights for both sexes. The Women’s Charter,
declared in 1993 has also made provisions to protect the rights
of women. Despite these measures, violence and sexual
harassment against women and the girl child is considerablyhigh in Sri Lanka. Girls are particularly vulnerable to incest,
rape and other forms of sexual harassment at a young age due
to lack of protection and care.

Gradually the behavior of Mala’s father changed and he began
to consume alcohol daily at home along with friends. Mala wastired of these evening parties because she had difficulties withthe men invited to their place. One day a man invited by her
father raped her. Although it was a terrible incident, she was
helpless. She did not even have anyone to tell about thisincident. She wanted to run away from home, but it was notpossible as she was concerned about her brothers. Her father
was not approachable as she knew that this particular man had
influenced her father in various ways. One day, Mala began
bleeding and got sick. She was taken to the hospital and thispathetic story came out at that point.

In Sri Lanka, many mothers of poor families tend to migrate toforeign countries as domestic servants due to economic
hardships in their families. In the absence of mothers, themajority of fathers cannot accomplish household chores as they
are not used to carrying out such work. Because of genderstereotypes, older girls in the families are compelled to attend to
all the household work. As a result, most of these girls sacrifice
their education because of family.

In conclusion, it is well recognized that violence and sexual
harassment against the girl child negatively affects humandevelopment in any country. Hence, it is vital to take measures
to eliminate this problem and allow these young girls to growup with their dignity and full potential. Sri Lanka has been
taking various measures to eliminate this problem.
Establishment of women and children’s desks at police stations
is progressing satisfactorily. A
hotline facility is available to reportsuch cases and capture theperpetrators. However, it is vitalthat protection and care of the girlchild should be given due attention.
Education and awareness is needed
to open the eyes of people about thedark world of the girl child and bringlight to their lives.

The situation gets worse when fathers do not act in a
responsible manner. Many of these men get addicted to drugs
and alcohol, utilizing the money sent by their wives. They invite
friends to their homes to consume alcohol and ask theirdaughters to prepare and serve food for all of them. Under thesesituations, girls become vulnerable to sexual and psychologicalviolence. The following case exemplifies this problem.
Mala is the eldest daughter in a family with two younger
brothers. Her mother went to the Middle East as a domestic
servant due to financial problems when Mala was just fourteen.
At the beginning, Mala’s grandmother helped them with

No.55 February 20099

Wives for Sale:
Contract Marriage in Indonesia

THE FORUM WINDOW
Viewing Japan from Outside

Gloria ARLINI (Singapore)
Recent years have seen heartening developments inIndonesia’s efforts to combat exploitation and violenceagainst girls. Greater attention has been paid to this issue
at the governmental and policy level, while civil society
organizations keep watchful vigil at the grassroots level.
The National Committee for Child Protection (Komisi
Nasional Perlindungan Anak or KPA), has been formed tospearhead the national effort to eradicate violence againstchildren. It identifies four types of violence or abuse: sexual
abuse (including trafficking and prostitution), physical abuse(including domestic violence), verbal or emotional abuse, andabandonment (including neglect of health and education,and forcing children into any kind of work that would
jeopardize their normal development).

As a result of advanced globalization, increasing
numbers of people now travel across national borders.
According to statistics from Japan’s Ministry ofJustice (http://www.moj.go.jp/), approximately 17.29
million Japanese went abroad in FY 2007,
surpassing arrivals to Japan by approximately 8.14
million. As evidenced by this fact, many Japanese
are traveling around the world, giving both positive
and negative impressions of Japan and Japanese.
During my travels abroad, I found that in addition to
the excellent products made in Japan, such as carsand cameras, many people overseas associate
Japan with negative incidents and affairs.

A particular cultural phenomenon in Indonesia-kawin
kontrak-seems to fall into a grey area, however, within thismap of “conventional” abuse. Kawin kontrak is, literally,
contract marriage. From a cultural standpoint, it is a
“proper” marriage in the sense that the couple is wedded
before a Muslim clerk presiding over the akad nikah(wedding ceremony). Moreover, there are witnesses, awedding dowry, and sometimes even “guests”. What makes
it unusual is that it only lasts for as long as the agreed upon
contract holds, which could range from two days to several
years. The dowry for such marriages almost always takes
the form of hard cash, which could be a one time payment or
regular subsistence allowance for the bride. At the end of
the contract, both parties are single again, and are notbound to each other in any way.

To my great regret, I learned some time ago that theJapanese term yakuza (gangster) is well known in
the Philippines, and that there were quite a few
victims there of incidents caused by yakuza. On
another occasion, in a local Japanese restaurant inThailand, I came across a Japanese magazine thatshowed middle-aged Japanese men how to
become “friends” with young Asian women around
Thailand. Since then, I can’t help recalling that
article whenever I see a middle-aged Japanese
man walking on the street with a young Asian
woman.

It is much like “formalized” prostitution, where a wealthy
man can “buy” a girl and receive sexual favours from herbut without shame or guilt, especially since some consider ithalal, or permissible, in the eyes of religion. But those who
suffer the most from such arrangement are, of course, thegirls. Most of the kawin kontrak brides are sourced by local
agents, called calo, and pimps who specialize in playing
liaison for the groom and bride-to-be. It is not unusual forthese girls to be pressured, forced or threatened into kawin
kontrak by their family and relatives for the sum of money
being promised. After all, many of these girls are naïve
villagers whose families are typically in dire financial need.

More recently, I had an opportunity to talk with
Asian women who had been trafficked to Japan andfinally returned to their home countries. It was
indeed painful to hear their stories about the many
hardships they had experienced in Japan. I was
also surprised to learn that they had stayed in many
Japanese cities, both large and small, across Japan.
This fact indicates that some victims of humantrafficking have been and are suffering in our own
cities, possibly even in our own neighborhoods,
although we have been unaware of the fact. Those
victims must have views of Japan that are quite
different from our own view of Japanese society.

Unlike prostitution, which is frowned upon from both moral,
societal and religious standpoints, those sending theirdaughters into kawin kontrak seek moral refuge in that they
are sending their daughter into a “good marriage” withwealthy men.

Each time I see and hear of such facts, I can’t help
worrying about overseas people’s impressions ofJapan and its society. In this age of advanced
globalization, so many Japanese are travelingaround the world. I hope that our travels will offer us
good opportunities to look at our own society with a
global perspective.

And in addition, certainly, some kawin kontrak wives
eventually get so used to the effortless income that they
become seasoned in doing kawin kontrak, either locally oroverseas. However, we must identify the exploitative
elements of such practices which treat girls likecommodities, while entirely ignoring their rights and wishes
as free human beings. Exploitation need not be definedsolely in relation to the elements of violence, as is often thecase. In working towards an effective and thorougheradication of exploitation and abuse against girls, policymakers and practitioners must be aware of “softer” and lessobvious elements of deception and disrespect for girls.

Yukiko ODA
Professor, The Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing
KFAW Chief Researcher

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No.55 February 2009

Asian Lifestyles
Photos from KFAW Readers

Kimchi Vendors in Bazaar (Kyrgyz Republic)
I took this picture
at Osh Bazaar in
Bishkek, the capitalof Kyrgyz. Kyrgyz is
one of five countries
in Central Asia,
including Kazakhstan,Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
These countries became
independent from the former Soviet Union. I often
see ethric Korean Chinese women selling kimchi
at bazaars in these countries. The Kyrgyz people,
who represent more than 65% of citizens in
Kyrgyz, have features similar to Japanese.

In Japan, many children are keen on playing
video games when they play whether alone orwith friends. How do the children of your homecountry play?

Yasuhiro HOSODA, Kitakyushu, Japan

I asked some Chinese friends,
who are around 40 years old,
how they played when they
were children. They told methat girls played different
games than boys did. Boys
played marbles and hide-andseek, while girls played
Chinese jump rope and othergames. Boys and girls didn’t play together, but theyboth played outside.

Takuzo OSUGI, Fukuoka, Japan

Yoshiko UENO
Paper Craftsperson

Yoshiko Ueno has always enjoyedcollecting paper, and started to learn
the art of papermaking after having
an opportunity to meet the writer,
Mr. Tsutomu MIZUKAMI. The art ofmaking paper is very time-consuming;
even preparing the materials andcooking plants used in making thepaper require time and effort. However, Ueno says thatwhen she is making paper, it is a time full of pleasure, and thesound of the water relaxes her. She also has had a wonderfulexperience when teaching papermaking and helping out withexhibitions, where children who have previously been housebounddue to depression have been able to go out into society and findwork on their own. Her husband uses her paper to makelampshades. The light passing through the washi creates a soft
and warm atmosphere. Her dream is to take the best parts ofwashi and use it not only for lighting, but in other ways as
well, and discover new possibilities for Japanese paper.

However because of the one-child policy, the number ofchildren has decreased sharply and many parents
have become overprotective. They run to their child’s
kindergarten or elementary school at the end of theschool day and take their child home. The children
play alone or with adults in their homes because they
don’t have any siblings. They also have a lot of
homework, so that limits their playtime even further.
In urban areas, in particular, children attend cramschools even during long vacations.
In these situations, many parents don’t know how
their children play with their friends. You don’t see
children playing outside anymore. My Chinese friends
said when they do see children jumping rope on school
grounds, they feel nostalgic for the passage of time.

Pyongyang
Beijing

Seoul

KITAKYUSHU OTEMACHI BUILDING 3F
OTEMACHI 11-4, KOKURAKITA, KITAKYUSHU, 803-0814 JAPAN
PHONE 81-93-583-3434 FAX 81-93-583-5195

Tokyo
Kitakyushu

E-mail: kfaw@kfaw.or.jp URL: http://www.kfaw.or.jp/index.html.en
Starting from the issue (June 2008), we capitalize
the last names of persons at the beginning ofarticles. We adopted this policy so that our readers
can easily distinguish last names in spite ofdifferent customs regarding the writing of familynames.

KFAW
The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) was established in October of1990 with a special government fund for revitalization projects. Subsequently,
in 1993, the KFAW was recognized as a foundation by the Ministry of Labour(the present tne Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The purpose of the
KFAW, through various projects, is to promote the improvement of women's
status as well as their mutual understanding and cooperation in Asia.

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