Whatever Happened To … The WW II Sex Slaves Fighting For Justice?

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Isabelita Vinuya, 88, reflected in mirror, bids farewell to Perla Bulaon Balingit in the village of Mapaniqui in Pampanga. They are two of the last living «comfort women of the Philippines. On Nov. 23, 1944, Vinuya, Balingit and some 100 other girls and women were taken to the Red House and systematically raped by the Japanese Imperial Army.

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Images of the «comfort women of the Philippines, who were held as sex slaves and repeatedly raped by members of the Japanese Army during World War II, are displayed at the Lila Pilipina office in Quezon City. This organization has helped these women in their fight for acknowledgement of and compensation for their suffering.

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PHOTOS: Why These World War II Sex Slaves Are Still Demanding Justice

They make up two survivor groups now — the Malaya Lolas (Tagalog for Grandmothers of Freedom) and the Lila Pilipina (League of Philippine Lolas), the country’s earliest organization for survivors euphemistically called «comfort women.

Over the course of the past year, many of the survivors have become too infirm to leave their home to converse with friends and go about their regular business. Some are now confined to bed, frail and failing.

This year, three more Lolas have died: Magdalena Billones, Feb. 26; Belen Alarcon Culala, Feb. 28 and Januaria Galang Garcia, Sept. 3.

Januaria Galang Garcia takes a midday nap in the village of Mapaniqui in Pampanga, Philippines, on May 19, 2019. Garcia, who was one of the women subjected to sexual slavery during World War II, died on Sept. 3, 2021. She was 9 years old when the Japanese attacked their village, a suspected guerrilla holdout.

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Belen Alarcon Culala looks out on the street in her village of Mapaniqui in Pampanga, Philippines. Culala, who died on Feb. 28, 2021, was one of approximately 100 girls and women who were raped repeatedly by the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers during the course of one night in World War II.

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Narcisa Claveria shares a pastry with her great granddaughter, Atarah Mizsha Cancino, at the family’s home in Antipolo, Metro Manila.

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Remedios Tecson and Narcisa Claveria hold hands during a birthday celebration for several of the «comfort women at the office of Lila Pilipina (League of Philippine Lolas) in Quezon City on April 27, 2019.

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Narcisa Claveria, right, whispers in Estelita Dy’s ear as a group of «comfort women gather to celebrate Dy and Remedios Tecson’s birthdays at the Lila Pilipina office in Quezon City on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

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The Red House, a once regal mansion owned by a Filipino doctor, was used as a garrison and «comfort station where women and girls as young as age 8 were raped by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

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Ailing and infirm, Januaria Galang Garcia is bathed by a family member in the village of Mapaniqui in Pampanga, Philippines, on May 19, 2019. Garcia died on Sept. 3, 2021. She was 9 when Japanese soldiers laid siege to her village during World War II, killing the men and raping the women and girls.

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Belen Alarcon Culala and Pilar Quilantang Galang, left and right, support each other during a visit to the Red House, where the women were raped repeatedly as children by the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers. In the background is Emilia Mangilit, a fellow survivor. Culala died on Feb. 28, 2021.

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Candelaria Soliman, 91, Isabelita Vinuya, 88, and Emilia dela Cruz Mangilit, 92, left to right, were children when their village of Mapaniqui in Pampanga, Philippines, was attacked by the Japanese during World War II. All the men were killed and the women and girls were forced to walk to the Red House, where they were raped by Japanese soldiers.

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Isabelita Vinuya prays nightly for peace and forgiveness. She was 12 years old when a mass rape took place in her village of Mapaniqui.

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Emilia dela Cruz Mangilit, 92, center, plays a game of cards with her neighbors Abelardo Hernandez and Cezar Lalu, left and right. Mangilit was 15 years old when her village of Mapaniqui in Pampanga was shelled and then raided by the Japanese during World War II.

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Narcisa Claveria takes a midday nap with husband, Anaceto Claveria, in their home in Antipolo, Metro Manila. Claveria was 12 years old in 1943 when the Japanese came to their village in Abra, Philippines, during World War II. Accused of harboring guerrilla fighters, her father was tortured and her mother was raped. Claveria never saw them again.

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Narcisa Claveria takes a midday nap with husband, Anaceto Claveria, in their home in Antipolo, Metro Manila. Claveria was 12 years old in 1943 when the Japanese came to their village in Abra, Philippines, during World War II. Accused of harboring guerrilla fighters, her father was tortured and her mother was raped. Claveria never saw them again.

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«As soon as the pandemic is over, she says with her signature grit, «we’ll go back to the streets to make noise against the government and the government of Japan. We’ll do rallies again.

NPR Manila-based producer Ella Mage contributed to this project.

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the Yunghi Kim grant.