Citation

Ogoshi A. Jpn. J. Relig. Stud. 2005; 79(2): 399-424.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Japanese Association for Religious Studies)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

No one can deny that the twentieth century was an era marked by warfare and violence. The great majority of victims have been people not directly involved in fighting wars, such as women and children. The recent surfacing of these realities, which until now had gone unvoiced in male-dominated societies, can be attributed to the appearance of women who have suffered from acts of violence during wars. They also testify that they have suffered from guilt-consciousness and shame-consciousness. In the case of sexual violence, the victims have been forced to remain silent and invisible, while the perpetrators and their crimes have gone unchallenged. The patriarchal systems have violently put together the episteme that the sin of perpetrators are metathesized to the victims, and they have been constructed as the subaltern. None of the androcentric religions can be absolved of this kind of historical responsibility to trivalize, marginalize, and excuse crimes against women, particularly acts of sexual violence. To relativize "history, " not a few feminist theologians and religious activists are recently engaged in listening to the testimonies of women victims and survivors, and reconstructing an alternative story…that is "Her-story." When trauma is voiced, much attention must be paid not only to the contents of testimonial narratives, but also to the processes of their formation within personal and local experiences. Through the solidarity of women who can share pain and anger, we can open a new perspective toward reconciliation and forgiveness.

Language: ja