What About the Boys: A Gendered Analysis of the U.S. Withdrawal and Bacha Bazi in Afghanistan

[Colorblind Genius]

Understanding how the current practice of bacha bazi is linked with the oppression of women’s rights, human rights violations, and pedophilia will be important for the Biden administration as it navigates its new relationship with Afghanistan.
As U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden must find alternative ways to achieve Washington’s political and strategic goals in the region. The U.S. will likely find ways to engage with Afghanistan outside of the security sector, such as increased diplomacy, economic development, and education assistance. Understanding how the current practice of bacha bazi is linked with the oppression of women’s rights, human rights violations, and pedophilia will be important for the Biden administration as it creates new policy points for the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan. Without an understanding of how these intersecting issues affect Afghan society and policies, U.S. policymakers are missing a key part of the broader picture.

It is also imperative to acknowledge the multifaceted gendered dynamics impacting Afghan society that lead to support, both openly and tacitly, of the Taliban in certain regions. The predatory and abusive nature of some men in the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the lack of concern on behalf of the U.S. military continues to undermine public support for the U.S.-Afghan partnership in both countries. This is especially at a moment when the Afghan government needs U.S. funding to try and maintain a semblance of stability.

Turning a Blind Eye

Bacha bazi is a term found in multiple languages and translates roughly into English as “boy play.” While the name takes on different meanings and conjures different understandings throughout history, at its foundation bacha bazi involves pre-pubescent boys dancing for and entertaining a group of men, typically during large gatherings such as weddings. The historical practice of bacha bazi is much more nuanced than its current iteration of sexual abuse of young boys, and it is important to understand the role it plays in today’s Afghanistan, including as a key factor in the rise of the Taliban, who have been public in their opposition to the practice.

In the past, transgenerational same-sex sexual relationships between the dancing boys (the bachas) and older men (the bacha baz) were common alongside the entertainment the boys provided in social settings. The Taliban banned and publicly punished the practice when they came to power in the 1990s, but after the collapse of their regime in 2001, when the former Islamist commanders from the days of the anti-Soviet insurgency came to power, bacha bazi again became common in certain regions of Afghanistan and evolved into boys being kidnapped, trafficked, and raped without any semblance to or recognition of the cultural nuances that used to embody the practice such as dancing at events or social gatherings. In today’s Afghanistan, it has become an avenue for wealthy or powerful men, particularly those involved in the factions that were part of the former Northern Alliance and the ANSF – the U.S. allies in the region – to sexually abuse young boys under the pretense of engaging in the historical practice of bacha bazi.

This raises the question: Is the U.S. funding bacha bazi directly or indirectly, and should the U.S. continue protecting, training, and financially supporting the ANSF given its history of known human rights abuses? The U.S. spent $978 billion on the war from 2001 to 2019, but despite a growing awareness of sexual abuse on U.S. military bases, little to nothing was done to curb funding or sexual violence. It is clear that boys need to be more actively discussed as an integral part of any human rights agenda in Afghanistan, where women and girls are given an almost exclusive focus. The U.S. failed to protect Afghan boys from abuse by its allies in the government and security forces, and the Taliban have used this to their strategic advantage.

https://newlinesinstitute.org/unite...u-s-withdrawal-and-bacha-bazi-in-afghanistan/