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“Backlash” refers to right-wing movements which detest gender equality.
“The head of a gender equality center” refers to myself. I was the head of STEP,
a gender equality center in Toyonaka, Osaka. Backlash movements are prevailing
all over Japan, spreading false rumors and threatening people. They exclude
books and teachers that oppose their ideology from the society and water down
the gender equality policies. This prevents the government from implementing
the policies, withering them rapidly. The same can be said about Toyonaka. The
local government gave in and dismissed me from the head of the center. The
government sacrificed me to the backlash movement.
I filed a lawsuit against the decision and the case lasted for 7 years,
ending up in the Supreme Court. And finally last year, the Supreme Court judged
that the dismissal was unfair and underhand, and it invaded my personal right. This
became final and binding, bringing a historical victory to supporters of gender
equality. We successfully counterattacked the backlash movement in Japan for
the first time in the solidarity with the defense lawyers, scholars and
supporters.
This book, The Sacrifice of
Backlash, comprises my essay based on the massive statements submitted to
the Osaka District Court, “The Theory of Personal Right Invasion” by Professor Mutsuko
Asakura, memoirs on the trial by Katsuko Terasawa and Mitsuko Miyaji, the attorneys
who supervised the lawsuit, and a timeline of the trial. The book also includes
the flyers, conversations, newspaper articles and photographs of the trial.
Nothing would make me happier, if our readers
would realize "the terror of Fascism” from the viewpoint of gender
equality.
Original article written by Mariko Mitsui,
the editor (http://wan.or.jp/book/?p=4013)
Translated by N. Tajima
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