For a few months, the Filipina Comfort Women memorial stood in Manila, commemorating the hundreds of comfort women from the Philippines who were forced into sexual slavery in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II. Comfort Women were hundreds of thousands of women from South-East-Asia who were abducted from their homes by the Imperial Japanese Army, raped, suffered from violence, and lived in inhuman conditions in brothels. In recent years, more and more memorials have been dedicated to commemorate them. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines led the installation and fundraising, choosing the artwork of Jonas Roces. The 2-meter bronze statue portrayed a grieving blindfolded woman wearing a traditional Maria Clara attire. The plaque on the front side of the pedestal read: “This monument is a memory of all the Filipino women who became victims of abuse during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945). It took them a long time before they testified and gave their statements regarding their experience.” The plaque on the back listed the donors and partners who contributed to the erection of the statue. On December 8th, 2017, the statue was dedicated, but after political pressure from the Japanese government, it was uninstalled on April 27th, 2018, against the wish of women’s groups. It was stored in the artist’s private studio and stolen a year later. Read more...