Are Afghan Security Forces Complicit in Child Sex Trafficking?

In Afghanistan, an ancient tradition is re-surging — with exploitative results. Bacha bazi, a term that literally means "boy play," is the tradition of wealthy men paying young boys to dress in women's clothing and dance for them. But bacha bazi boys are often used for much more than just dancing. Many of them are forced to have sex with the men who buy and sell them. And Afghan security and police forces aren't just ignoring this form of child trafficking. They may actually be complicit in it.

The bacha bazi tradition has deep roots in Afghan culture. For centuries, wealthy men have been buying orphans or boys from poor families, dressing them in women's clothing, and paying them to sing and dance for entertainment. After the bacha party, the boy is auctioned off to the highest bidder or shared by several men for sex. When the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, they banned the practice, and it remains illegal today. But since the Taliban was ousted, the tradition has been revived and is growing.

Bacha bazi boys are usually teens, but many are as young as 11. Most of them come from very poor families or are orphans from the war. Boys are lured off the street or bought from family members by businessmen. Then, they are usually kept in a house with other boys, and trained to sing, dance, and play musical instruments. They are also introduced to the commercial sex industry, usually by being raped by the men who train them or sold for sex out of the backseat of cars.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of bacha bazi is how quickly the practice is being revived in Afghanistan and how little police and security forces are doing to stop it. In fact, uniformed Afghan police officers have even been witnessed procuring young boys in broad daylight. And according to a recent report from UNICEF, many of the men who participate in bacha bazi work for the Afghan government, including those who publicly denounce the practice. But even the Afghan authorities who aren't actively participating in bacha bazi are refusing to broach the taboo subject or arrest and prosecute those who commit bacha bazi.

PBS Frontline recently did an in-depth investigation into bacha bazi in Afghanistan, providing rare footage of bacha bazi in practice. In one of the bacha parties they filmed, the crew spotted the head of the child crimes division of the local police department. Yep, the head policeman for protecting children was participating in the trafficking of one. When the guy in charge of investigating crimes against children is hanging out at child trafficking parties, it's time to take action.

Tell the UN Mission to Afghanistan to crack down on child trafficking via bacha bazi. Child sex trafficking is never acceptable, even when it's masked by a cultural practice. On in this case, made up and draped in silk scarves like one.

Photo credit: Afghanistan Matters