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Multiple discrimination against minority women in Japan

Highlighting structural discrimination and oppression is an integral component of all of IMADR’s activities aimed at eliminating racism. This includes the often forgotten gender perspective, as a cross cutting issue which impacts upon all other themes. Being aware that minority women, in particular, suffer from multiple discrimination by virtue of their combined identities as minorities and as women, IMADR-JC is involved in various activities focused on addressing the issues faced specifically by indigenous Ainu, Buraku, Zainichi Korean (see note below) and Okinawan women.

Multiple Discrimination Against Minority Women

Historically, discrimination based on gender, race and other forms have been seen as parallel but distinct forms of discrimination. But in recent years, the international community has come to recognise the fact that factors such as age, disability, ethnicity and socio-economic status can compound discrimination based upon sex, forming further multiple barriers to women's empowerment and social advancement.

In 2000, the United Nations convened an Expert Group Meeting on Gender and Racial Discrimination which produced a report on this topic. Further, in its General Recommendation XXV on Gender Related Dimensions of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination recognised that “racial discrimination does not always affect women and men equally or in the same way”, that certain forms of racial discrimination may be directed specifically towards women, and “that some forms of racial discrimination have a unique and specific impact on women”. As a result, the Committee recommended a more systematic and consistent approach to evaluating and monitoring the disadvantages, obstacles and difficulties women face.

Conversely, in the same period, initiatives within Japan to address multiple discriminations have been almost non-existent. In 1999, IMADR-JC established a Minority Women’s Multiple Discrimination Network to grasp the current reality of and address the problems and forms of multiple discrimination faced by minority women, by raising awareness, carrying out research and studies, and facilitating networks. We held working group meetings to discuss and share the experiences of minority women, culminating in the publication of the book Minority Women Can Change the World! Multiple Discrimination Against Minority Women. These groups of minority women also raised, as a common issue, the lack of any data that reflected their situations, and the subsequent survey of minority women carried out by these groups was a direct product of these discussions.

The Views of Minority Women - into Policy! Into Society!;
Consideration of Japan’s Periodic Reports under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”)

In July 2003, the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW Committee”) considered Japan's fourth and fifth periodic reports on the implementation of the CEDAW. IMADR carried out various initiatives centered on this process, hoping to utilize it as a springboard to begin addressing the issues faced by minority women. At a minimum, it was felt that minority women needed to remind the Committee and the government of their existence, and the fact that they were yet to enjoy the spirit of the rights protected under CEDAW.

Believing it important to work with other women’s organizations and movements, IMADR-JC was actively involved in the formation and facilitation of the Japan NGO Network for CEDAW (“JNNC”). Women involved in Japanese women’s movement were also able, through working together with minority women to lobby the UN and the Japanese government, to increase their understanding of the issues faced by minority women, with CEDAW providing an important opportunity to collaborate in respect of common issues.

IMADR-JC drew up and submitted a preliminary NGO alternative report for the CEDAW Committee’s consideration, focusing on the situations of Buraku women, Zainichi Korean Women, Ainu women, women with disabilities and women’s shelters. IMADR-JC and Buraku and Ainu women also lobbied committee members directly, holding committee briefings and attending the CEDAW session where Japan’s report was considered. As a result, half of the Committee’s members made reference to the issue of minority women during the session. The Committee’s Concluding Comments, issued in August 2003 also highlight the lack of information in the government’s report regarding the situation of minority women, with the Committee expressing their concern over the multiple forms of discrimination and marginalization these women may face with respect to education, health, employment, social welfare and exposure to violence, both within their own communities and in the wider society. On this basis, the Committee called for the inclusion, in the government’s next report, of “comprehensive information, including disaggregated data on the situation of minority women”, especially in respect of the abovementioned areas.