Women's Lives Around the World : a Global Encyclopedia / Susan M

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WOMEN’S LIVES AROUND THE WORLD A Global Encyclopedia

VOLUME 3 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Susan M. Shaw, General Editor Nancy Staton Barbour, Patti Duncan, Kryn Freehling-Burton, and Jane Nichols, Editors

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Shaw, Susan M. (Susan Maxine), 1960- editor. Title: Women's lives around the world : a global encyclopedia / Susan M.

Shaw, General Editor. Description: Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLIO, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017015976 (print) | LCCN 2017031062 (ebook) |

Subjects: LCSH: Women—Social conditions—Encyclopedias. Classification: LCC HQ1115 (ebook) | LCC HQ1115 .W6437 2018 (print) | DDC

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Guam Guam has a surface area of 210 square miles and fea- tures 77 miles of coastline. It has a tropical marine climate with little seasonal temperature variation and a rainy Overview of Country season that lasts from July to December. In 2014, Guam’s Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States, is population stood at 161,000 inhabitants, with the major- the largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands ity of people living in urban areas (CIA 2016). Currently, archipelago. Guam’s history is long and rich, with the Chamorros account for 37 percent of the total population, indigenous Chamorro people inhabiting the island since followed by Filipinos at 26 percent, mixed-race peoples 2000 BCE. Ancient Chamorro cultural values emphasized at 9 percent, and Caucasians at 7 percent. The remaining communal interdependence, familial relationships, and 21 percent of the population is made up of other Pacific kin networks. The values and history of ancient Chamorro Islander and Asian ethnicities. culture continue into contemporary Guamanian society. The last 400 years of Guam’s history are marked by a Girls and Teens legacy of colonization, beginning with the Spanish, follow- Women have played an important role throughout the ing the arrival of explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. history of the Chamorro people and Guam. The history of More than two centuries of Spanish colonial rule greatly Chamorro matrilineal family systems has continually influ- influenced Chamorro culture and can still be seen today. enced the island. Women continue to affect the preservation Spanish words were incorporated into the Chamorro lan- of Chamorro culture and are highly involved in familial, guage, as were cultural traditions such as fiestas and the community, political, and business life on the island. Guam practice of Catholicism, which is practiced by 85 percent is not listed in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) of today’s Guamanians. Currently, English is the primary Gender Inequality Index (GII) because it is an unincor- language on Guam and is used by almost 44 percent porated territory of the United States. In 2013, the UNDP of the population. Other prominent languages on Guam ranked the United States as 47th out of 187 on the GII. include Filipino dialects, which are used by 21 percent of the population, followed by the indigenous Chamorro language, at almost 18 percent. The remainder of the popu- Education lation speaks a variety of other Pacific Islander and Asian Prior to colonization, Chamorro children learned skills languages. that were essential to ancient society, such as canoe making

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and weaving. Formalized European-style education began close to 3,000 students, and women account for 55 percent on the island with the arrival of the Catholic clergy. The of the student body. first Spanish school in Guam was a seminary that became The University of Guam is a four-year land-grant insti- fully operational in 1673 and remained open for more than tution that serves almost 4,000 students. The university 200 years (Rogers 1995, 50). Schools during the Spanish opened in 1952 as a two-year teacher training junior col- colonization era emphasized written language skills, such lege and has since grown to offer an associate’s degree as reading and writing, as well as Christian doctrine. Chil- program, 35 bachelor’s degree programs, and 15 master’s dren learned gender-specific subjects in schools: girls were degree programs. During the fall of 2012, 59 percent of taught cooking and sewing, and boys learned carpentry. enrolled students at the University of Guam were women. Under U.S. naval government, gender-segregated The University of Guam offers an interdisciplinary minor schooling continued. In 1917, Naval Government Execu- and certificate program in Women and Gender Studies. tive Order Number 243 was enacted, banning the speak- ing of Chamorro except for translation purposes. This Sex Education was applied to areas of public life, such as classrooms and on baseball fields. Additional general orders issued In 2011, the Risk Behavior Survey conducted in Guam’s by naval governors continued to force the use of English, public schools by the Centers for Disease Control and such as General Orders 12 and 13. General Order 12 dealt Prevention (CDC) found that 49 percent of high school with the education system on Guam, emphasizing that students reported having sexual intercourse, and only 32 classes should be taught in English, and General Order 13 percent reported that they use protection during inter- instructed that all island residents should do their best to course. Two years later, the 2013 Guam Youth Risk Behav- learn to read, write, and speak English. Education under ior Survey found that among high school students, 37 the naval government faced problems of overcrowding percent had engaged in sexual intercourse, and 59 percent and insufficient facilities. Following the reclamation of of those students had not used a condom during their last Guam from Japanese forces in 1944, the military govern- sexual encounter. The 2012 Guam School Health Profiles ment acted quickly to open new schools on the island shows that 100 percent of high schools on the island taught (Rogers 1995, 201). students how to access reliable health information related Currently, the Guam Department of Education oversees to HIV, STDs, and pregnancy in health education classes. the public education system for the island. There are 39 However, only 75 percent of schools utilized a health public schools on Guam that serve nearly 32,000 students, education curriculum that addressed all eight national including Head Start and kindergarten to 12th grade. In standards for health education. Additionally, none of the the 2012–2013 academic year, the Guam public school sys- schools provided curricula or supplementary educational tem had a graduation rate of 68 percent and an average materials that engaged in the five practices related to les- dropout rate of 4 percent. Of the 32,000 students in Guam’s bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) education system, 47 percent are girls (Fernandez 2013). youth (CDC 2016). Outside of the school system, another resource for sexual education on the island is Guam Sex Ed, an organization that provides information on compre- Universities hensive sex education as well as other health and wellness Guam has two public institutions of higher education— resources available on Guam. the University of Guam and Guam Community College. Guam Community College was established in 1977 to serve secondary and postsecondary students on the island. Health The college manages all of the career-technical educational Contemporary issues facing the youth of Guam include the programs on Guam and offers adult education programs, use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol and suicide. In Guam, including adult high school, English as a second language approximately one in five youths smoke—a decrease from (ESL), the general education degree (GED), basic skills, previous years. However, the use of smokeless tobacco and family literacy. The college also maintains important products is rising among both adults and youth on the relationships with the island’s public high schools through island (David 2012). The prevalence of teen drinking is their programs of study. Guam Community College serves also in decline; in 2011, nearly 25 percent of high school

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students reported drinking. Teen girls use tobacco and Maternal Health consume alcohol at a comparable rate to boys on Guam, In 2012, Guam’s birth rate was 22.5 births per 1,000 peo- unlike their adult counterparts, who use at lower rates than ple, with a teen birth rate of 21.7 births per 1,000. In 2012, men. Chamorro youth have the highest rates of tobacco there were 27 fetal deaths—a fetal death rate of 7.4, which use and alcohol consumption in Guam. Guam’s youth use was a decrease from prior years (Office of the Governor of marijuana at a higher rate than youth in the United States Guam, Bureau of Statistics and Plans 2014, 168). Fifty-six in general, with one in three teens being current users. percent of women were reported to be breastfeeding at the Guam experiences high rates of suicide, with an average time of discharge from Guam Memorial Hospital. Addi- of one suicide every two weeks. Youth and young adults tionally, in 2013, 23 percent of children 19–35 months had under the age of 30 account for 60 percent of suicide deaths received the full schedule of age-appropriate immuniza- on the island. Guam’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed tions (Maternal and Child Health Federal-State Partner- that girls in high school were more likely to report suicidal ship 2016, 21). thoughts than their male counterparts. Youth suicides are related to gender-based violence, depression, substance abuse, and identifying as LGBTQ+ (David 2012). Diseases and Disorders In Guam, the life expectancy for men is 75 years and 81 Access to Health Care years for women (Office of the Governor of Guam, Bureau of Statistics and Plans 2014, 168). According to health data In the 2014 State of the Island Address, Governor Eddie collected from 2008 to 2011, Guam’s leading causes of Baza Calvo stated that 91,000 people were insured on the death were heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, island. The average private-sector insurance premium diabetes, and septicemia (Calvo 2014). ranges from $2,522 to $2,734, and 48,000 low-income Guamanians can access health care through Medicaid and the Medically Indigent Program (Calvo 2014). The island Employment of Guam has two hospitals, Guam Memorial Hospital and The precolonial Chamorro economy was subsistence-based the U.S. Naval Hospital. In 2016, the Guam Regional Med- and primarily focused on fishing and agriculture, with ical City, a private hospital, was opened. Access to health work tasks shared by both men and women (Rogers 1995, care in Guam, along with the other U.S. territories, has 27–28). Ancient Chamorro society was divided by caste; been complicated by the passage of the Affordable Care upper-caste families controlled coastlines and the fishing Act (ACA). The ACA consists of two pieces of legislation: industry, and lower-caste families worked the land (Cun- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the ningham 1992, 30). Men and boys fished along coastal Health Care Reconciliation Act of 2010. terrain. Women managed the house, weaved, and made American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, pottery. Men and women shared in child-rearing and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were not fully worked in gardens and along reefs together (Souder 1992, incorporated into the ACA, resulting in numerous ques- 70). Under Spanish colonization, women worked as serv- tions on how the territories were to pay for and enact the ants and cooks, did laundry, and exchanged sexual services health care marketplace. In 2013, the territories ques- (Souder 1992, 71). During the mid-20th century, the econ- tioned their ability to carry out some of the provisions in omy in Guam shifted from the pre–World War II modified the ACA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human subsistence economy to military construction and infra- Services (HHS) responded that it could not choose which structure jobs (Rogers 1995, 202). of the provisions could or could not be followed by the Today, a thriving tourism industry and the United States’ territories. However, on July 16, 2014, the Obama admin- national defense spending largely constitute the contem- istration announced that the territories would be exempt porary Guam economy. The island’s other largest industries from several provisions in the ACA, most notably that they are construction, transshipment services, concrete prod- had to provide insurance to all health care shoppers. The ucts, printing, publishing, food processing, and textiles. The statement issued by HHS shared that the change in policy 2010 estimated civilian labor force in Guam was 69,390, stemmed from recognizing the definition of “state” in the and the island has an 8 percent unemployment rate (CIA ACA did not include the self-governing territories. 2016). The largest occupations on Guam are management,

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business, science, and arts professions, accounting for 28 Chamorro matrilineal systems and saw the increased role percent of the workforce, closely followed by sales and of men in the household as well as a restriction of women’s office jobs at 27 percent. The next-largest occupation is roles. Contemporary Chamorro women still take care of in service industries at 21 percent, followed by natural family finances, are spiritual leaders in their homes and resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. communities, and often take on legal and business affairs. According to a 2013 Guam Department of Labor report, Despite changes brought on by centuries of colonization, women constitute 43 percent of the island’s workforce. Chamorro women are still an essential part of family and Organizations such as the Guam Women’s Chamber of society on Guam and have been central to the preservation Commerce work to foster and support women’s economic of Chamorro culture and traditions. growth and leadership and to influence legislation that affects women. In 1991, the Guam government established Marriage the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, which works with women Marriage is an example of the many aspects of women’s to improve working conditions and advance opportunities lives that changed during colonization. Precolonization for employment. Chamorros married within their caste, but outside of their family clan. The marriage of a couple was a contract Family Life between their clans. Grooms paid bride gifts to the woman’s father, and a large celebration with a feast legitimized Traditional Chamorro society evolved around the extended the marriage (Rogers 1995, 37). Girls typically married family unit, or clan, with women at the center. Cham- between the ages of 12 and 15, while boys generally mar- orro society was matrilineal—family lineage was traced ried between the ages of 15 and 18 (Cunningham 1992, through the mother’s family—and women were central in 122). If a marriage dissolved, the woman retained property, all aspects of decision making. The eldest daughter held goods, and the custody of any children. Individuals were an influential role in family decision making, and daugh- free to remarry at will, although men were always expected ters lived with their family until marriage. Chamorro girls to pay the bride gift, even with multiple marriages. were taught to be strong and active women as they grew During the Spanish colonial rule, traditional Chamorro up. They assisted their mothers in religious ceremonies marriage traditions blended with Catholic marital tradi- and around the home, and they learned the importance of tions. The primary change within this transformation was family (Souder 1992, 58–59). the lessening of women’s marital control and an increase The matrilineal system in ancient Guam afforded women of the husband’s. Under the U.S. naval government, civil a central role in society as well as in family and financial marriage and divorce were instituted. At the beginning decision-making processes. Women maintained property of the 20th century, the first naval government issued an and inheritance rights. Ancient Chamorro society was executive order to ban cohabitation and having children segregated by a rigid three-tiered caste system. A woman’s out of wedlock (Souder 1992, 48). Additional executive caste position helped to determine what duties she would orders decreed that women and children must take the be expected to perform throughout her life. Rank within surname of the husband. These laws were amended begin- the family was determined through the maternal lineage, ning with the 14th Guam Legislature, and women serving with seniority beginning with great-grandmothers and in the 15th Guam Legislature introduced further amend- grandmothers and ending with the youngest daughters. ments designed to make marriage laws more equitable for Elders were highly respected in ancient Chamorro society, both spouses (Souder 1992, 54). and a respect for elders is still present in contemporary According to the 2010 census, 50 percent of males in Guam. Guam were married, while almost 6 percent were divorced. Mothers played a central role in Chamorro culture. Forty-nine percent of women were married, and almost 7 Chamorro women traditionally had very large families, percent of women in Guam were divorced. and motherhood was central in the socialization process. Mothers passed on cultural values, language, and traditions Sexuality to their children (Souder 1992, 58). Centuries of colonization have impacted many aspects of Chamorro women’s Early Spanish priests on the island documented wom- lives. The Spanish and U.S. colonization eras ended the en’s sexuality in ancient Guam, noting the ways in which

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it varied from European traditions. Prior to colonization, Before 2015, Guam did not have nondiscrimination laws Chamorros were not fully clothed, as the environment in place for LGBTQ+ residents, and marriage was legally did not necessitate it. Chamorros typically wore hats and defined as between one man and one woman. In 2009, the coconut oil on their skin to protect them from the sun and Guam legislature saw the first attempts to address the legal sandals to protect their feet from the rocky shores (Cun- status of LGBTQ+ couples and antidiscrimination policies, ningham 1992, 43). Traditionally, Chamorro women wore but none of the bills that were introduced passed. On June small aprons or grass skirts and did not wear clothing until 5, 2015, a federal judge struck down Guam’s law banning fabric became available after the Spanish arrival. same-sex marriage, citing an October 2014 ruling by the There were no restrictions on premarital sexual behav- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that declared ior prior to marriage in ancient Chamorro culture. Women similar bans in Idaho and Nevada unconstitutional. Guam and men were free to engage in sexual activities outside became the first territory to issue same-sex marriage of wedlock, and it was considered undesirable to marry licenses on June 8, 2015. On August 11, 2015, the Guam a virgin. One of the ways that men and women prac- Legislature passed Bill 102, the Guam Employment Non- ticed sexuality in ancient Chamorro society was through discrimination Act, which extends workplace discrimina- the uritao—a bachelor’s house. Once men went through tion laws to protect LGBT workers. puberty, they moved into the uritao to learn a variety of skills, including canoe building, tool making, navigation, and sexual practices. Unmarried girls were selected to Politics live in the house and help provide young men with sexual The UN Special Committee on Decolonization lists Guam experiences. The men presented the girls’ father with gifts. as 1 of 17 nongoverning territories in the world today. As It was considered an honor for girls to be selected to live in Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States, the uritao, and this helped to raise family status (Cunning- Guamanians are citizens of the United States, but the island ham 1992, 184). Children that were born out of premarital receives no votes in the Electoral College and has one non- relations were accepted into the woman’s family, as were voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives. An children who were orphaned (Rogers 1995, 37). elected governor and an elected unicameral 15-member The practice of living inuritaos ended with Spanish colo- legislature manage the government of Guam. nization, as the Spaniards viewed the cultural practice of pre- The involvement of the United States in the governance marital sex and having children out of wedlock as immoral. of Guam began in 1898 with the signing of the Treaty of Restrictions on women’s sexuality progressed throughout Paris, when Spain ceded the island to the United States at Spanish colonization, and with the U.S. naval government, the end of the Spanish-American War. At that time, Guam’s Eurocentric models of femininity were enforced through residents were not yet U.S. citizens, and the island was varying societal expectations and regulations. By the mid- placed under the control of the Department of the Navy. 20th century, the sexual revolution in the United States was Naval governors administered the government of Guam expanding societal expectations of sexuality, and this cre- until World War II, when the island was briefly occupied by ated more liberal attitudes about sex and sexuality in Guam. Japan. The Japanese Imperial forces controlled the island from 1941 to 1944. During this time, Chamorros were subjected to forced manual labor, physical injuries, sexual LGBTQ Issues assault, and internment in concentration campus (Souder In contemporary Guam, ongoing social debates about 1992, 34). In August of 1950, six years after the United sexuality can be seen in the LGBTQ+ movement. In States regained control of the island from Japan, President 2007, gay rights activists founded the island’s prominent Truman signed the Organic Act of Guam, which granted community-based LGBT nonprofit, Guam’s Alternative Guamanians U.S. citizenship. Lifestyle Association (GALA). GALA works to improve the Since the United States began its presence in Guam, quality of life for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender a long process of Americanization has evolved. Laws, Guamanians and their allies through support, education, policies, infrastructure, culture, and media have all been and advocacy. According to the 2012 School Health Pro- influenced by an influx of military personnel, government files, 55 percent of the high schools on Guam have a gay- employees, and civilians from the United States. Prior to straight alliance or similar clubs. and following World War II, the U.S. military has accrued

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land from indigenous Chamorros to accommodate mili- saw another rise in women legislators in Guam. Between tary installations. In 2014, the U.S. military occupied one- 1983 and 1994, over two dozen women were elected to the third of the land on the island of Guam, with four branches Guam Congress (Drage 1995, 65). In 2016, in the elected of the military present: the navy, air force, army, and Coast 33rd Guam Legislature, there are four women legislators. Guard (Santos-Bamba 2010). In 2006, the United States announced that Guam was slated to receive more than 8,000 marine servicemembers and their dependents as Religious and Cultural Roles the U.S. military transfers them from the base in Okinawa, Ancient Chamorro legends depicted a female spirit as the Japan. Guam continuously experiences a growing econ- life-giving force and controller of the environment (Souder omy and shifts in population due to the military buildup 1992, 64). Women played an important role in many Cham- and as Chamorro populations leave the island. Chamorros orro rituals, such as funerals and weddings. Chamorro have left Guam for a variety of reasons, but some com- women also served important cultural roles as healers and mon factors include moving for education and to join the midwives. Traditional midwives, pattera, were predomi- military. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 40 percent of nantly used until the post–World War II era on Guam and Chamorros live outside of Guam. were only granted the title of pattera after many years of In ancient Guam, women held considerable political apprenticeship (McGrath 2002, 497). In particular, suru- power within the matrilineal clan system. As women’s hana roles have persisted from ancient to contemporary roles shifted throughout the process of colonization, so did society. Suruhanas are women who care for the physical, their political autonomy. During the Spanish colonization, mental, and spiritual well-being of Chamorros through the women maintained some of the legal rights they had pos- use of herbs and, in some cases, prayer (Souder 1992, 66). sessed throughout precontact Chamorro society, including With the arrival of the Spanish, Catholicism became, the ability to own property and enter into contracts. The and still remains, a central part of Chamorro women’s U.S. naval era saw strict restrictions on the rights of Cham- lives. The conversion to Catholicism instilled new cul- orros, including the implementation of English-only poli- tural expectations for Chamorro women. The Virgin Mary cies in schools and public places, and Chamorro was only became an idealized figure; restrictions were placed on allowed for translation purposes. In 1917, Naval Governor women’s sexual autonomy, and this repositioned wom- Roy Smith (1858–1940) created the First Guam Congress, en’s authority within the family and church (Souder 1992, though only men served as legislatures until the mid-20th 68). Women and girls are active members of their com- century. munities, participating in church organizations as well as By 1931, women were eligible to vote and run for the other community development and support activities. The legislature on Guam. Women have served in the Guam Guam Women’s Club is the oldest women’s organization on legislature since the mid-20th century. In 1946, the first the island. It was started in 1952 by Cecilia Cruz Bamba woman was elected to the Guam Congress, Rosa Aguigui (1934–1986). The club is a volunteer nonprofit organi- Reyes (1915–2007). In addition to being the first woman zation dedicated to improving life on Guam by address- to serve in the Guam Congress, Rosa Aguigui Reyes was ing issues related to the welfare, health, and education of also part of the first graduating class of the College of the people of Guam through volunteerism, fund-raising, Guam, receiving an associate’s degree in education in 1954. educational scholarships, and lobbying for community Between 1946 and 1950, six women served in the legisla- improvements. ture. The next two decades saw a decrease in female legislators, with only five women serving between the years Issues 1953 and 1978 (Souder 1992, 76). Self-Determination In 1978, community organizer and businesswoman Cecilia Cruz Bamba (1934–1986) was elected to the 15th Guam’s history is marked by a legacy of colonization and Guam Legislature. During her tenure as a senator, Bamba the resistance by the Chamorro people. Their pursuit for served on more than a dozen committees, working tire- self-determination was demonstrated by the Chamorro lessly toward reparations for Chamorros who suffered uprisings throughout the Spanish-Chamorro War (1680– during the Japanese occupation of the island during 1696) and continuous efforts for self-governance and World War II. The closing decades of the 20th century self-determination into the 21st century. During the first

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naval government (1898–1941), Chamorros formally peti- public opinion, with the majority voting for common- tioned the U.S. government multiple times on the issues of wealth status (Rogers 1995, 271). A second Commission civil rights and self-governance for Guam. In 1917, when on Self-Determination was established and continued the Guam Congress was established, Chamorro leaders to work on Guam’s Commonwealth Act. Since the 1980s, used their position as legislators to advocate for U.S. citi- the Commonwealth Act has been revised and put on zenship and civil rights (Rogers 1995, 138). Following the hold throughout changes in political administrations. In Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II, the 1997, the Commission on Decolonization took over the U.S. naval government continued to control the admin- work of the Commission on Self-Determination and con- istration of Guam. Chamorros continued to spearhead tinues to work toward changes in Guam’s political status. Guamanian efforts to establish self-governance through formal petitions. U.S. Military Buildup Conflicts over the naval rule of Guam peaked in March 1949, when members of the Guam Congress walked out in On February 17, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clin- protest of the naval government’s treatment of Chamorros ton and Japanese Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi and in support of an organic act for Guam. The walkout signed the Guam International Agreement, allowing for garnered national attention in the United States and helped the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps personnel and their to spur President Harry Truman to address the political dependents, an estimated 17,000 people, from Okinawa, situation in Guam, requesting the State Department do Japan, to Guam (Camacho 2012, 698). This move was an assessment. Following the assessment, President Tru- intended to strengthen the U.S. military’s ability to deploy man instructed the navy to transition the governance of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, to prevent terrorist organ- Guam to the Department of the Interior within 12 months izations from moving across the Pacific, and to deter (Rogers 1995, 220). Additionally, President Truman nuclear threats, such as those associated with China and instructed the Department of Interior to draft an organic North Korea (Camacho 2012, 698). This move poses logis- act for Guam, signing it into law on August 1, 1950. While tical challenges for the small island, including adding addi- the Organic Act established U.S. citizenship and released tional pressure to such services as public schools, social Guam from naval rule, Guamanian leaders have continu- and medical services, and housing and to infrastructure, ally sought to address further issues of self-determination such as roads, water, and power supplies (Owen 2010, 309). and decolonization. The military buildup also poses other possible challenges Two legislative political commissions were established to resident Guamanians, such as access to bidding oppor- in 1973 and 1975 to assess Guam’s political situation. The tunities for the necessary construction work for existing 1973 political commission report listed nine complaints business and access to jobs. against the U.S. government and called for a constitution A variety of Chamorro organizations are engaged and assessment of the military presence (Rogers 1995, in activism against the military buildup on Guam. This 250). In 1975, the political commission was tasked with activism builds on the work of Guam’s Commissions on assessing the peoples’ views on Guam’s political status and Decolonization and Self-Determination. The presence of representing Guam in negotiations with the U.S. govern- thousands of additional U.S. troops and their dependents ment. In 1976, the second political status commission held continually presents challenges to the preservation of a public referendum on the political status of Guam, listing Chamorro language, culture, and lands (Owen 2010, 309). five options: statehood (24%), improved status quo (58%), The Chamorro women’s activist group Fuetsan Fama- status quo (9%), independence (6%), and other (3%) (Rog- lao’an works to build coalitions among Chamorros and ers 1995, 262). non-Chamorros and has been active in organizing against Following these political status commissions in 1980, the military buildup. In 2009, Guam was the location for the first Commission on Self-Determination was estab- the International Women’s Network against Militarism lished. The commission was tasked with creating a ref- conference, and the women of the conference drafted a erendum to determine a new political status for Guam, letter to President and Mrs. Obama directly addressing but it faced many questions, including issues of defining the issues associated with the military buildup on Guam self-determination and Chamorro self-determination. (International Women’s Network against Militarism 2010). Ultimately, two referendums were held to decide the Organizations such as the Guam Landowner’s Association,

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Nasion Chamoru, the Organization of People for Indige- Recreation nous Rights, and We Are Guahan have all worked toward There is a long history of youth recreational and social the decolonization of Guam (Camacho 2012, 700). groups on Guam. Today, there are a variety of recreational activities for girls and teens, such as traditional Chamorro Gender-Based Violence dance groups in schools and community organizations. Gender based violence on Guam impacts women across Recreational outlets are also offered by organizations such the island. According to the Guam Police Department, in as the Girl Scouts. The Guam Girl Scouts have been active 2006, there were 1,035 reported cases of domestic violence for 72 years, and as of 2014, there were 26 troops across the on the island. Of these incidents, 77 percent of victims island. Other organizations, such as the local prevention were women, 21 percent involved sexual assault, and 14 program Island Girl Power, offer positive activities and role percent required medical treatment for the victims (Uni- models for girls aged 7–14. versity of Guam Violence against Women Program 2014). As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Activists on Guam, such as the Guahan Coalition for Peace Guam is subject to U.S. laws such as Title IX, which directly and Justice, who were involved in protesting the U.S. mil- affects girls’ education and access to sporting programs. In itary buildup on the island, cite violence against women 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments was enacted, as one of the many reasons for preventing the transfer of protecting individuals from sex-based discrimination in thousands of troops to Guam. Female Chamorro activists educational programs and activities that receive federal on Guam cite the work of other indigenous women organ- financial assistance. izing against militarized violence, such as the Okinawa In Guam, sports such as baseball and soccer are popular Women Act against Violence, to address the ways in which activities. Baseball gained popularity on the island during U.S. military presence increases rates of violence against the U.S. naval government era in the 20th century, which women and girls (International Women’s Network against had a sanctioned Little League charter established in 1967. Militarism 2010). Football, or soccer, has gained popularity on Guam since the 1970s. The Guam Football Association was established Abortion in 1975 and offers women’s, youth, and all-girls leagues. Kali Furman Abortion on Guam has a long history. It was first noted as a resistance strategy women used against the Spanish Further Resources during the Spanish-Chamorro War (1680–1696) (Souder Calvo, Eddie Baza. 2014. State of the Island: Healthcare Revolution. 1992, 75). Following the war, Spanish visitor accounts doc- Camacho, Keith L. 2012. “After 9/11: Militarized Borders and umented Chamorro women aborting pregnancies to pre- Social Movements in the Mariana Islands.” American Quar- vent further repression by the Spanish colonizers (Rogers terly 64.4: 685–713. doi:10.1353/aq.2012.0048. Carano, Paul, and Pedro C. Sanchez. 1964. A Complete History of 1995, 71). In the 20th and 21st centuries, access to abortion Guam. Rutland: Charles E. Tuttle Company. has been difficult for women on Guam. In 1973, the U.S. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). 2016. “HIV, Supreme Court ruled via Roe v. Wade that women have the Other STD, and Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Guam Stu- right to abortion services, and as an unincorporated ter- dents.” Division of Adolescent and Student Health. Retrieved ritory, this ruling applies to the island. In 1990, the Guam from ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/data/yrbs/2013/hiv%20factsheets legislature passed a restrictive abortion law that had no /gu_hiv_combo.pdf. CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). 2016. “Guam.” CIA World exceptions for cases of rape or incest, only for the life of Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/pub the mother. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned this law lications/the-world-factbook/geos/gq.html. in 1992, guaranteeing women the right to an abortion Cunningham, Lawrence J. 1992. Ancient Chamorro Society. Hon- through the sixth month of pregnancy. In 2012, the gover- olulu, HI: Bess Press. nor of Guam signed into law a mandatory 24-hour waiting David, Annette M. 2012. Guam Epi Profile 2011. Guam State Epi- period for women seeking abortion. The law also requires demiological Outcomes Workgroup SEOW. Retrieved from https://www.peaceguam.org/sites/default/files/2011_GU that women seeking an abortion must be given informa- _EpiProfile_FINAL.pdf. tion about alternatives to abortion services and risks asso- Diaz, Vicente. 2010. Repositioning the Missionary: Rewriting the ciated with the procedure. These restrictive measures are Histories of Colonialism, Native Catholicism, and Indigeneity part of a larger political trend across the United States. in Guam. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

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Drage, Jean. 1995. “The Exception, Not the Rule: A Comparative Owen, Amy. 2010. “Guam Culture, Immigration, and the US Analysis of Women’s Political Activity in Pacific Island Coun- Military Build-Up.” Asian Pacific Viewpoint 51.3: 304–318. tries.” Pacific Studies 18.4: 61–93. Retrieved from https:// doi:10.1111/j.1467-8373.2010.01433.x. journals.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/PacificStudies/article/view Perez, Michael P. 2006. “Colonialism, Americanization, and File/9990/9639. Indigenous Identity: A Research Note on Chamorro Iden- Fernandez, J. P. 2013. Annual State of Public Education Report tity in Guam.” Sociological Spectrum: Mid-South Sociological 2012–2013. Guam Department of Education, Office of the Association 25.5: 571–591. doi:10.1080/02732170500176138. Superintendent. Hagatna, Guam. Rogers, Robert F. 1995. Destiny’s Landfall: A History of Guam. GALA (Guam’s Alternative Lifestyle Association). 2016. “Who We Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Are.” Retrieved from http://galaguam.webs.com/whoweare.htm. Rubinstein, Donald H., ed. 1992. Pacific History: Papers from the Health Resources & Services Administration Maternal and Child 8th Pacific History Association Conference. Mangilao: Guam: Health. 2016. “Maternal and Child Health Services Title V University of Guam Press & Micronesian Area Research Block Grant Guam.” Retrieved from https://mchb.tvisdata Center. .hrsa.gov/uploadedfiles/StateSubmittedFiles/2016/GU/GU Santos-Bamba, Sharleen J. Q. 2010. “The Literate Lives of Cham- _TitleV_PrintVersion.pdf . orro Women in Modern Guam.” PhD diss., Indiana University International Women’s Network against Militarism. 2010. “Letter of Pennsylvania, August. to Obama Regarding Guam.” Women for Genuine Security, Souder, Laura Marie Torres. 1992. Daughters of the Island: Con- February 14. Retrieved from http://www.genuinesecurity.org temporary Chamorro Women Organizers on Guam. Balti- /actions/obamatoguam.html. more, MD: University Press of America. McGrath, Barbara Burns. 2002. “An Historical Perspective of University of Guam Violence against Women Program. 2014. Helping Practices Associated with Birth, Marriage and Death “Domestic and Dating Violence Statistics on Guam.” Retrieved among Chamorros in Guam (Review).” Contemporary Pacific from http://www.uogvawpp.org/domestic.php. 14: 496–499. doi:10.1353/cp.2002.006. Woodward, Valerie Solar. 2013. “‘I Guess They Didn’t Want Us Office of the Governor of Guam, Bureau of Statistics and Plans. Asking Too Many Questions’: Reading American Empire in 2014. Guam Statistical Yearbook 2013. Hagatna, Guam. Gu am .” Contemporary Pacific25.1: 67–91.

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