The Heartbreaking Truth of Bacha Bazi in Afghanistan: A Missed Opportunity

Every morning during a work stint in Afghanistan about eight years ago, I would see a young boy named Abdul at the bakery window, perhaps 14 years old. His face was full of youth and curiosity. He'd peer out, watching the world with an innocent curiosity and shy smile. One morning, Abdul was gone. A day later, his uncle, his body slumped forward in defeat, told me a powerful government official in their neighborhood had taken him away. I knew, he knew, we all knew what that meant. I went home and wept for that young boy whose name I did not know, feeling sick and helpless. His youthful face has never left me.

This tragic incident is a result of Bacha Bazi, a practice in which young boys – between the ages of 10 and 18 – are exploited and abused by older men. "Bacha Bazi" translates to "boy play" and involves boys being dressed in women's clothing, dancing, being passed around for unfathomable abuse and being sexually abused.

While there is sensitivity to interfering in another country's culture, this practice is plain wrong at any place or time.

The perpetrators are often powerful men, including warlords, militia leaders, and wealthy businessmen. Despite being illegal under Afghan law, enforcement has long been weak, and cultural factors frequently prevent authorities from acting.

Photo by nasim dadfar on Unsplash

The cultural argument was the shield for decision-makers five thousand miles away in D.C. We – Americans – were outsiders. This was their tradition, a deeply ingrained part of their society, the powers proclaimed. Who were we to tell them to stop? How absurd. Tradition cannot be an excuse for barbarity. When did not protecting children become a matter of respecting cultural norms?

If we had allowed our servicemembers to take a zero-tolerance punishment approach against this, we could have initiated a fierce deterrent that may have eventually led to an eradication of this horror. We lost that opportunity. Instead, we punished those unwilling to look the other way.

In 2015, the U.S. government went after a decorated U.S. Special Forces soldier, Sergeant First Class Charles Martland, who caught an Afghan policeman who kidnapped a young boy and kept him chained to his bed as a sex slave. An outraged Martland subsequently beat him up. He didn't kill or seriously wound him – and yet this soldier faced the wrath of a court martial for a violation of military protocol. You can't make this stuff up. Initially, the Army sought to expel Martland for his actions, but after significant public outcry and support from lawmakers, some sanity prevailed, and the decision was reversed, allowing him to remain in the Army.

Evil exists everywhere, and Bacha Bazi is the epitome of pure evil. We, the supposed champions of freedom and justice, had the chance to hold those accountable with punishment that may have spurred a legitimate shift to be a beacon of hope for those trapped in its darkness. Instead, we chose the path of least resistance, the comfortable lie of cultural relativism.

While there has been a great deal of awareness globally in protecting girls – although there is a long way to go – we cannot let protecting boys fall to the wayside. Victims of Bacha Bazi suffer severe psychological and physical trauma, with long-term impacts on their mental health and well-being, and they often face significant barriers to reintegration into society.

We had two decades to make inroads and protect the vulnerable, but bureaucracy tied the hands of the men and women who wanted and were willing to take a stand.

In another time or place, I can only hope we don't make this mistake again.

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