Baccha

Sexology ba-bo • Sexology bp-bo

Bacha bāzī (/ˈbɑːtʃɑːbɑːˈzi/, Pashto and Dari: بچه بازی, lit. 'boy play') refers to a pederasty practice in Afghanistan in which men exploit and enslave adolescent boys for entertainment and/or sexual abuse. The man exploiting the young boy is called a bacha baz (literally "boy player"). Typically, the bacha baz forces the bacha to dress in women's clothing and dance for entertainment. The practice is reported to continue into the present as of 2025.

Often, the boys come from impoverished and vulnerable situations, such as being street children, primarily lacking relatives or having been abducted from their families. In some cases, families on the brink of starvation may sell their young sons to a bacha baz or have them "adopted' in exchange for food and money. Facing social stigma and sexual abuse, the young boys, who often loathe their captors, struggle with the psychological effects of the abuse and endure emotional trauma for life, which can lead to substance abuse, including drugs and alcohol.

Bacha bazi was outlawed during the period of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. However, it was widely practiced. Force and coercion were common, and security officials of the Islamic Republic stated that they were unable to halt such practices, as many of the men involved in bacha bazi were powerful and well-armed warlords. Laws were rarely enforced against these influential offenders, and reports indicated that police were complicit in related crimes. While bacha bazi carried the death penalty, boys were sometimes charged instead of the perpetrators. Under Taliban law, bacha bazi also carries the death penalty. Article 170 of the first General Penal Code of Afghanistan, adopted in 1921, called for a fine and jail time for keeping bachas, marking the first law regarding bacha bazi in modern Afghanistan's history.

History

Wikipedia article: Slavery in Afghanistan

According to German researchers, the practice of bacha bazi in modern-day Afghanistan was widely recognized by the 13th century. Today, Afghanistan is one of the few places where bacha bazi—a pederasty practice—has been preserved in public consciousness. Many experts cite poverty, extreme gender segregation, and war as its primary drivers. Numerous ethnographic studies reference the practice's prevalence in the northern, southern, and eastern regions of Afghanistan. Lord Curzon, who visited the court of Abdur Rahman Khan in the late nineteenth century, refers to “dancing-boys” as “an amusement much favored in Afghanistan”; while John Alfred Gray, a British physician who served as the amir's surgeon in the early 1890s, describes a scene of about a dozen boys, “aged around thirteen to fourteen,” with long hair and dressed as girls, dancing at the court. Mahmud Tarzi, a leading intellectual of the time, also notes the presence of both bāzengar (dancing-boys) and kanchini (dancing-girls) in the public gatherings of late 19th century Kabul in his memoir.

Article 170 of Afghanistan's first General Penal Code, adopted in 1921, imposed fines and jail time for those who kept bachas, marking the first legal stance on bacha bazi in the history of modern Afghanistan.

Ethnomusicologist John Baily noted that organizing gatherings with dancing boys, or bachas, was prohibited in Herat during the 1970s, primarily because violent fights frequently broke out at such events. German ethnographic research from the 1970s documented the widespread tradition of dancing boys, known as bachabozlik, among Uzbek populations in northern Afghanistan. The research revealed that such views were common among Afghan intellectuals, who either “denied the existence of the phenomenon in Afghanistan or within their own ethnic group” or linked it to illiteracy, gender segregation, and the limited sexual opportunities in rural areas. While it was acceptable for the bacha and bacha bāz to exchange a few kisses and caresses, sexual intercourse was forbidden; otherwise, the relationship would end abruptly.

According to international relations scholar Lasha Tchantouridze, there is no reliable data regarding bacha bazi during the socialist era or how the Soviets dealt with it during their military operation. Tchantouridze suggests that, since the Soviets executed perpetrators of similar practices in Central Asia during the '20s and '30s, they likely did not tolerate the practice in Afghanistan either. However, bacha bazi was prevalent among Western-supported forces, including the Mujahideen and later field commanders in the Northern Alliance. Within the Mujahideen, keeping underage male conscripts (known as "chai boys") for sexual servitude was viewed as a status symbol.

Bacha bazi was outlawed by the Taliban following their rise to power and the enforcement of Sharia law in 1996. The Taliban effectively eradicated the practice through severe repression against those who participated in it. However, the practice experienced a resurgence after the Taliban's removal in 2001, attributed to both the former Mujahideen commanders regaining power and the prevailing lawlessness.

A study published by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) found that 78% of men who engage in bacha bazi are married to women. Some Afghans believe that bacha bazi violates Islamic law on the grounds that it is homosexual in nature; others argue that Islam only prohibits a man from having sexual relations with another man, but not with a boy.

In 2011, in an agreement between the United Nations and Afghanistan, Radhika Coomaraswamy and Afghan officials signed an action plan promising to end the practice while enforcing additional protections for children. In 2014, Suraya Subhrang, child rights commissioner at the national Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, stated that the areas practicing bacha bazi had increased. Until 2017, Afghan law lacked clear definitions or provisions to address the practice. A new penal code came into force in February 2018, containing specific provisions to punish offenders involved in bacha bazi.

In 2022, following the Taliban's return to power after the United States' military withdrawal from Afghanistan, reports indicated that abuse continued in the reinstated Islamic Emirate, with Taliban officials accused of participating in bacha bazi and criminalizing the victims. A 2022 Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime report suggested that the practice is likely to persist and possibly increase. In addition to some Taliban commanders allegedly maintaining bachas, the Taliban's ban on music and dancing seems to have driven the practice further underground, making it even more challenging to identify or protect the victims.

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Baccha ]

Jump to: Main Page • Micropedia • Macropedia • Icons • Sexology • Time Line • History • Life Lessons • Links • Help
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root