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Asia: Women and work in Japan We're busy. Get an abortion
亞洲：日本的婦女和工作，我們很忙，你墮胎去吧
Pregnant women are furious about how they are treated at the office.
孕婦在職場上受到的待遇讓她們感到憤怒。
“Abenomics is womenomics,” Japan's prime minister declared, marrying two atrocious words in a single phrase, at a glamorous shindig called WAW! , or the “World Assembly for Women in Tokyo”, on August 28th-29th.
日本東京于8月28至29日舉辦了一場名為“世界婦女大會”(簡稱WAW！)的華麗盛宴。日本首相在大會上說：“安倍經濟學就是女性經濟學”。短短一句話把兩個可怕的詞串連起來。
Before an international audience of high-powered female leaders and businesswomen, Shinzo Abe promised to help women “shine” at work as a way to boost Japan's talent pool and economy.
在眾多位高權重的國際女領導人和職業女性面前，安倍保證會幫助日本女性在職場上”發光發亮”，以此鼓勵培養人才庫，促進經濟發展。
As the conference opened, the Diet (parliament) passed a long-awaited law calling on companies to find ways to promote more women.
正值大會舉行之際，日本議會終于通過了人們期待已久的議案，呼吁公司企業提拔更多女職員。
Yet such grand visions are beside the point for most working women.
但對大多數職業女性而言，這般宏偉愿景意義不大。
Sayaka Osakabe, founder of a new non-profit outfit called Matahara Net, which campaigns for the rights of pregnant women at work, says that before “shining” women just need to be allowed to work without being harassed.
“孕婦騷擾對策網”是一個致力為在職孕婦維護權益的新非盈利性組織。其創辦人Sayaka Osakabe認為婦女在職場“發光發亮”之前，只要不被騷擾就已足夠。
Matahara, (a contraction of “maternity” and “harassment” ) , is illegal but rife.
“孕婦騷擾”(孕婦和騷擾的縮寫)雖然是違法的行為，但隨處可見。
The worst examples involve bosses urging pregnant women to have abortions.
在最嚴重的情況下，上司甚至會強烈要求懷孕的女職員去墮胎。
One woman who now works for Matahara Net landed a prized “career-track” job at a big bank alongside her boyfriend, who worked in another department.
現在“孕婦騷擾對策網”的一名女職員，她曾擁有一份極好的工作，前程似錦。她跟她的男朋友分別在一間大銀行的不同部門任職。
After she became pregnant, a manager told her he would “crush” both her own career and that of her boyfriend if she went ahead and had the baby.
她懷孕后，銀行經理告訴她如果堅持要孩子，他會“毀”了她和她男朋友的事業。
In 2011 she took the hint and had an abortion.
在2011年，她接受了經理的暗示，墮胎了。
Ms Osakabe herself suffered two miscarriages.
Osakabe女士也曾流產過兩次。
She says that stress caused by ill-treatment at work was partly to blame.
她認為流產的部分原因應歸咎于工作期間在職場受到的壓力。這種壓力則來自職場的不公平對待。
Other women have had to apologise in front of co-workers for becoming pregnant.
有些婦女因為懷孕了，要特意到同事面前道歉。
Those on precarious part-time contracts are particularly vulnerable to being fired while on maternity leave.
至于那些沒有保障的兼職合約員工極有可能在休產假期間被解雇。
A fifth of young mothers experience some kind of office harassment, according to Rengo, Japan's biggest trade union confederation.
根據日本最大的工聯會“連合”的調查，五分之一的年輕媽媽曾遭受過職場騷擾。
Part of the problem is the country's culture of pointless workaholism—office workers are expected to stay late even if they have no work to do.
這種問題的部分原因應當歸咎于日本毫無意義可言的”工作狂“文化。即使已經完成了所有工作，員工也要繼續留在辦公室加班。
Anyone exempted from this ordeal—mothers with young children, for instance—is envied.
不用受加班之苦的人，例如要照顧年幼孩子的媽媽自然會招人妒忌。
Also, since companies seldom hire cover for women on maternity leave, colleagues have to pick up the burden.
而且在女員工休產假這段期間，公司很少會另外請人頂替她們，這無疑會加重其他同事的工作負擔。
Twice as many female as male colleagues dish out verbal criticism of pregnant women.
在言語上批評和騷擾在職孕婦的女同事是男同事的兩倍。
It is one reason why seven out of ten women give up their jobs on having their first child.
這就是為什么首次懷孕的婦女中十個有七個會選擇辭職的原因之一。
Not all women think this is a problem.
并不是所有女性都對這個問題感到困擾。
Ayako Sono, a conservative who was once on a government panel on education, calls matahara a “dirty” expression that signifies women's overreaction to minor social discomforts.
曾是教育事務委員會的成員之一的保守黨議員Ayako Sono認為“孕婦騷擾”是“不當”的用詞，這只反映出婦女在社交方面感到一點不安便反應過度。
Yet it is hard for the government to ignore the harassment, since it contributes to the relentless decline in the Japanese population, policymakers' biggest headache.
但是政府不能忽視“孕婦騷擾”的問題，因為 “孕婦騷擾”會導致日本人口持續減少，而這正是讓決策者最為頭痛的難題。
Women who find it hard to combine work and motherhood often forgo the latter.
當婦女難以身兼職業女性和母親雙重身份時，多數會放棄后者。
Last year the Supreme Court ruled for the first time on matahara.
日本最高法院去年裁定了第一宗“孕婦騷擾”個案。
It found in favour of a mother who had sued a medical practice in Hiroshima for demoting her.
一名曾任職于廣島市某醫院的女性就自己因懷孕而遭降職一事入稟法院，終獲勝訴。
This judgment, and Mr Abe's championing of working-women's rights, have emboldened more women to speak out.
這場判決加上安倍支持捍衛在職婦女權益，相信會鼓勵更多女性公開表達意見。
Those expecting are starting to expect better treatment.
這些待產的女性正朝著更高的目標進發，追求更好的待遇。
譯文編自Jacqueline
