'They stole my life away': women forcibly sterilised by Japan speak out'They stole my life away': women forcibly sterilised by Japan speak outJunko Iizuka* was 16 when she was taken to a clinic in north-east Japan and forced to have a mystery operation that, she later discovered, would prevent her from ever having children. “They stole my life away.”Another victim of forced sterilisation, Yumi Sato*, was 15 when the procedure was done in 1972. Dalia Leinarte, chair of the committee, says forced sterilisation is a violation of women’s human rights “and in some cases may amount to torture”. In a lecture hall at the Tohoku Gakuin University in Sendai, victims speak to about 50 people about their experiences. It took her many years to muster the courage to talk openly about her forced sterilisation, but eventually she came to the realisation it was important to speak up.

Source: The Guardian April 03, 2018 22:52 UTC