The Unraveled and Disquieting Human Rights Violation of Afghanistan
Autor: Priya Pandey
Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on: 08/04/2017
Introducción
Bacha Bazi, also known as “Boys Play” or “Bachabaze”, is a form of human trafficking practiced in Afghanistan where boys are bought, sold, rented or traded for the entertainment and sexual pleasures of the elite class of the society (Network, 2013). Outlawed under the Sharia Law of the Taliban, the boys are typically dressed up like women, with make-up and bells on their feet, and are forced to dance for the entertainment of the Bacha Baz. The practice also involves forcing Afghan boys to engage in various forms of prostitution and child sexual abuse, including pornography, often until the age of 23-25 (Abawi, 2009; Coleman, Bacha Bazi Documentary Uncovers Horrific Sexual Abuse of Afghan, 2010).
These children are typically forced to live with their perpetrators where they are exposed to other forms of abuse as well.
Evolution of Bacha Bazi
The popular Afghan adage that, “women are for children and boys are for pleasure” reflects the cultural roots of this practice (Jones, 2014), which is also found in other Central Asian countries. The practice of Bacha Bazi is a symbol of the affluence and authority of powerful warlords, commanders and politicians of the country. Bacha Bazi was a common practice at the time of the Soviet Invasion in the 1980s, and outlawed by the Taliban in the 1990s when the latter consolidated their power (Browning, 2017). The practice began again in 2001 when the Taliban lost power as a result of NATO intervention and it still continues to persist. Years of war and silence, widespread poverty, illiteracy, and ambiguity or absence of law, have all allowed the practice to flourish in Afghanistan, relatively unnoticed by the international community.
Broken Promises
Most of the boys who are subjected to this practice are young, poor, and from broken families. In some cases, enticing offers are made including the promise of better life, economic stability, comfortable living and an assurance of support to the family. The Bachabaz ensure them of vocational education and employment under responsible supervision. Many times some extremely poor families handover their sons to the Bacha Baz in exchange of food, money and clothing (Jones, 2014).
Double Standards
The practice of Bacha Bazi is found to be culturally relative to the Afghan tradition which also deters women from appearing in public. According to Anna Maria Cardinalli, this extreme “Gender Divide is [a] potential reason for Baccha bazi” (Cardinalli, 2011). For example, bacha bazi boys are forced to accompany their owners to public places, parties and even to their home, actually enhancing the man’s financial reputation and social status, and effectually undermining the role of the Afghan Mother or Wife. This practice therefore not just enslaves Afghan boys but it further subordinates Afghan women, even in their own houses. The double standards of Afghan society condemns woman to have sex outside her marriage but permits the men to freely involve into sexual activities with the children.
What Makes This Practice Unique
Remarkably, in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, boy sex slavery is a constitutive and central feature. Human Rights defenders are utterly shocked that this atrocious act is not being condemned in the Afghan society. Legal scholars have been similarly surprised by the case of Bacha Bazi, which opens the issue of male sex slavery far beyond the particular circumstances in which it was considered to be restricted to, such as within prison populations. These boys are collectively exploited, enslaved and raped in the organized manner that is widely spread throughout a society. This practice also rejects the age old notion of sexual slavery which myopically views and restricts to the crime of rape mostly against women and girls.
Condemned Practice of Sexual Enslavement
The sexual exploitation of the children is considered to be among the most heinous forms of Human Rights violations as it severely damages the soul and personality of the child. Where sex trafficking is universally recognized as a heinous crime, child sex trafficking is abhorrent, unanimously condemned under International Law (State, 2009). It is ironic that the plight of female rape has received so much international attention, while relatively less attention has been paid to the sexual exploitation of boys. Despite its condemnaion, the issue of Bacha Bazi, which tears the spirit of the soul, is still not considered as a matter of priority by the government of Afghanistan or its allies.
Victim the Real Losers
The children who are trapped in this gruesome practice often undergo psychological trauma. These children are physically and mentally abused and even murdered if they oppose to the wishes of the Bacha Baz. The children live under the realm of fear as they are vulnerable to atrocities and have no hope of escaping. The boys offen suffer depression, as they feel worthless and powerless all the time. They continue to serve as long as the Bacha Baz finds them to be appealing (Guardian, 2012). Psychological and emotional shame restricts these boys from taking any skilled work that can support their living. In many cases, the victims of child sex abuse repeat the cycle of abuse on other children once they become adults.
Islam and Bacha Bazi
The legitimacy of Bach Bazi is contentious under Islamic Laws as some strongly condemn it on the grounds of Homosexuality, which is against Islam ((GA/SHC/3951), 2009). The people who support the practice assert that Islam prohibits a man loving from another man but does not forbid using a boy for sexual pleasures ((GA/SHC/3951), 2009). The supporters of Baccha Bazi justify it with a loose interpretation of Islam, the men engaged in this act are not seen as committing any sin nor violating the laws of Islam as long as their relationship with the boy is merely sexual and not emotional (Guardian, 2012). Some men also continue with this act despite knowing it to be immoral because they just become very fond of the boys and consider that having a boy is a custom.
Laws in Afghanistan
Article 427 of the Criminal Law prohibits rape and pederasty, stating that perpetrators should be sentenced to long term imprisonment, and further stipulates that, if the victim is a child and the perpetrator is tutor, servant or teacher, then such situation is considered to be aggravating (Commission, 2014). This law therefore covers crimes of rape and pederasty in general, but does not specifically address the practice of Bachabazi. Moreover, it does not cover sodomy, touching, massaging and other forms of sexual acts that are often involved with Bachabazi. This is why there is gap and ambiguity in the laws of Afghanistan regarding Bachabazi.
Thus, Bacha Bazi freely permeates in Afghanistan, condoned by governmental inaction. Despite its treaty obligations, the Afghan government seems to be giving its tacit approval for the practice, possibly in response to the interest of the influential people of the Afghan society. Individual law officers may also turn a blind eye to the issue for personal reasons, or because of its widespread cultural acceptance. In any case, the existing law has done little to combat this practice.
The International Conventions
United Nations Officials and several Human Rights Groups have denounced child sex slavery in Afghanistan. The Security Council bluntly condemns the appalling circumstances that affect the Afghan children. It has urged the Afghan Government to take immediate actions to protect the children who are involved in it and prevent more children from entering this[1] (Council, 2011). The United Nations has also published a manual designed to help the Afghan Government to implement a legal framework for banning child sex trafficking (Crime, 2008). The Afghan Government has failed to design and implement effective legal system for the protection of the child slaves despite the fact that the country has signed several International Conventions. Some of the International Conventions on Human Rights signed by Afghanistan are mentioned below:
International Conventions on Child Rights[2]
| Name of the Convention | Signed | Ratified |
| Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices similar to Slavery | 16 Nov, 1966 | |
| Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) | 27th Sep 1990 | 28th March 1994 |
| Optional Protocol to the Rights o f the Child on the Sale of Children, child prostitution and Child Pornography (May 2000) | – | 19th Sep 2000a |
Despite signing various conventions on protection of the violation of Human Rights the country fails to give protection to its people. Ironically, the Police Officials, Bureaucrats and the military people of Afghanistan have been reported to engage in the practice themselves. In the year 2011, United Nations had formed an agreement on ending the recruitment and sexual exploitation of the Afghan Dancing Boys but even after half a decade the Afghan government was unsuccessful in initiating the process.
The Woeful Reality: Bachabazi and Human Rights Violations
Bacha Bazi is so deeply ingrained in Afghanistan that, according to some estimates, half of the Pashtun Tribal Members are Bacha Baz and as many as one in five Afghan weddings will have Bacha Bazi (Coleman, Bacha Bazi Documentary Uncovers Horrific Sexual Abuse of Afghan, 2010). The children here are the victims of worst form of Human Rights violations. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has launched a national inquiry on the causes and consequences of bacha bazi in the country (Commission, 2014). It thus considers that Bachabazi is contrary to their Constitution and is against the International Human Rights principles. It also rejects the idea behind this traditional practice and pushes the Government to take immediate action.
Actions Needed
The Afghan Government has yet to ratify the UN Convention on the Traffic in Persons and fulfill their legal obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The onus thus lies on the Afghan people themselves, the international community, and human rights organizations to hold them responsible for the inhumane practice of Bacha Bazi, and push for its erradication, begining with a clear legal framework. Progress towards ending this blatant practice of human rights abuse should be given priority as a contribution towards the larger agenda of peace and development.
Works Cited
(GA/SHC/3951), 6. G. (2009). Urgent Action Needed by World Community to Stamp Out Violence against Children, Newly Appointed Special Representative Tells Third Committee. Washington DC: United Nations .
Abawi, A. (2009, Oct 27). Ignored by the Society, Afghan DAncing Boys Suffer, Centuries Old Tradition . Retrieved from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/26/ctw.afghanistan.sex.trade/index.html?iref=allsearch
Browning, A. (2017, Feb 13). Bacha Bazi: Afghanistan Sex Trade in “Dancing Boys”. Retrieved from hrbrief.org: http://hrbrief.org/2017/02/bacha-bazi-afghanistan-sex-trade-dancing-boys/
Cardinalli, A. M. (2011, May 12 ). Pashtun Sexuality. Retrieved from http://info.publicintelligence.net/HTT-PashtunSexuality.pdf
Coleman, K. (Director). (2010). Bacha Bazi Documentary Uncovers Horrific Sexual Abuse of Afghan [Motion Picture].
Commission, A. I. (2014). National Inquiry Report (1393) Causes and Consequences of Bachabazi in Afghanistan. kabul.
Council, S. (2011, May 18 ). Statement of Chairman of Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict . Retrieved from un.org: http://www.un.org/press/en/2011/sc10259.doc.htm
Crime, U. O. (2008). Appropriate Legal Responses to Trafficking in Persons: Manual for Parliamentarians of Afghanistan .
Guardian. (2012). Dancing Boys: Voices from Victims and Survivors of Human Trafficking, In Human Trafficking: Exploring the International Nature, COncerns and Complexities .
Jones, S. V. (2014). Ending Bacha Bazi: Boy Sex Slavery and the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine . United Nations Security Council.
Network, C. R. (2013, Sep 18). Afghanistan: An Indepth Look At the Practice of Bacha Bazi (Dancing Boys) . Retrieved from crin.org: http://www.crin.org/en/library/news-archive/afghanistan-depthlook-
State, U. D. (2009). Trafficking in Persons . Washington DC .
Footnote:
Bio: Dr Priya Pandey holds PhD Degree from Kanpur University, Uttar Pradesh, India. She has done Masters in International Law from University for Peace, Costa Rica and has received fellowship to do an Advance Course in Woman Human Rights Education from Toronto University, Canada. She is a Researcher and a Human Rights Activist and has presented and published work on Woman and Child Rights. She has also been a Visiting Lecturer to the Benaras Hindu University, has worked on several research projects and has been associated with the Malaviya Center for Peace Research.
