Japanese Women Fight Back

I've studied Japanese for the past two and a half years. One of the first kanji I ever learned was the kanji for "woman".

Onna/おんあ

Two semesters ago, I learned the kanji for the word "cheap".

Yasui/やすい

My teacher (a woman) pointed out the kanji for "woman" was part of the kanji for "cheap"

After pointing it out she shook her head and said "dame desu/だめです", or "not good". Unfortunately, to remember this kanji "Women are cheap" pops into my head. I've also grown weary of Japanese women's place in society.

So, of course, I really appreciate this video about domestic abuse in Japan. The statistics are pretty alarming-- "1 in 3 Japanese women have been physically assaulted in a relationship"?


However, I hate how the end sounds so hopeless. The ending really just suggests that despite efforts, women's shelters, domestic abuse laws, and women speaking out nothing is really going to change, women will still remain as second class citizens.