Afghan warlords keeping boys as sex slaves: UN

ABC Net (Australia) / Reuters. July 7, 2008

Afghanistan must do more to end an age-old practice of young boys being 
kept as sex slaves by wealthy and powerful patrons, the UN special 
representative for children and armed conflict said.

Radhika Coomaraswamy said the practice, called "bacha bazi" - literally 
"boy play" - was a taboo subject, but she had heard reports of warlords 
and military commanders keeping young boys and "exploiting them in 
terrible ways".

"What I found was nobody talks about it; everyone says 'Well, you know, it's been there for 1,000 years so why do we want to raise this now?'" she told a news conference at UN headquarters, reporting on a visit to Afghanistan last week.

"That seems to be the general attitude among everyone, but somebody has to raise it and it has to be dealt with."

Known as "bacha bereesh," boys without beards, the victims of such abuse 
are teenage boys who dress up as girls and dance for male patrons at 
parties in northern Afghanistan.

"We feel that a campaign should be run to raise awareness about this 
issue and to stop this practice," she said.

"We talk about sexual violence against girls and women, which is also 
terrible, but this hidden issue of sexual violence against boys should 
also be dealt with seriously."

Afghan police have tried to crack down on the practice and Islamic 
clerics say those involved should be stoned for sodomy, which is 
forbidden under Islamic law.

In a society where the sexes are strictly segregated, it is common for 
men to dance for other men at weddings in Afghanistan.

But in northern Afghanistan, former warlords and mujahideen commanders 
have taken that a step further, sometimes taking the boys as "mistresses".

Police and security officials in northern Afghanistan say they have been 
doing their best to arrest the men involved.

"It is sad to state that this practice that includes making boys dance, 
sexual abuse and sometimes even selling boys, has been going on for 
years," security chief of Kunduz province General Asadollah Amarkhil said.

"We have taken steps to stop it to the extent that we are able."

Gen Amarkhil said poverty, widespread in Afghanistan after nearly three 
decades of war, forced teenage boys into compliance.

Ms Coomaraswamy said raising awareness and prosecuting those responsible 
was the first step to ending the practice as it would act as a deterrent 
to others.

She said she was also concerned about a rise in the recruitment of child 
soldiers by the Taliban and others in recent months, as well as about 
civilian casualties including children from US-led coalition raids and 
air strikes.