Giving Asian Women a Voice

During World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army kept some 200,000 women and girls as sexual slaves, or “comfort women.” The majority of these individuals have long been silent – too ashamed to speak out – but many are now demanding a formal apology from the Japanese government.

M. Evelina Galang, a professor in the University of Miami’s Department of English, is fighting on behalf of these women, and in September she was named one of the 100 most influential Filipinas in the United States for her efforts.

“For me, this award provides another opportunity to raise awareness and bring these women, who are now in their late eighties and early nineties, some peace of mind and justice before they pass away,” said Galang. More generally, she added, “the award is important because it helps to recognize the contributions of the Filipino-American community to our nation.”

Galang said the award also belongs to the dozens of student volunteers who helped her to get House Resolution 121 – a bill asking Japan to take full responsibility for their crimes against the “comfort women” – passed by Congress.

As part of the award, Galang was invited to mentor a protégée. Among the numerous impressive young women who applied, she selected Rhea Olegario, a University of Miami freshman majoring in biochemistry. Galang and Olegario will work together to organize a student group called Friends of Lolas, which will raise awareness in the Miami community about issues relating to women, children, and war. “Lola” means grandmother in the Philippines’ Tagalog language, and lolas is another term as well for comfort women. The pair will give presentations and do readings of lolas’ public testimony in order to raise money for Lolas’ House, a community center for survivors.

Beyond her work with the lolas, Galang has focused on giving a voice to the women and girls of the Filipino diaspora. “As a storyteller, I have always believed in the power of words and the power of story to make positive change in the human condition.” She is the author of two works of fiction – Her Wild American Self (1996), a collection of short stories, and One Tribe (2006), a novel – both of which address the cultural tensions faced by Filipino Americans, especially women. One Tribe recently won the Global Filipino Literary Award for fiction.

Galang recently finished her second novel, Angel de la Luna, and is currently writing Lolas’ House: Women Living with War, Stories of Surviving Filipina Comfort Women of World War II, and her third novel Beautiful Sorrow, Beautiful Sky.