Rural Afghans (especially Pushtuns) have very unusual views on the role of women (mentioned here last week). Human nature being what it is, there are substitutes:
It’s after midnight. I’m at a wedding party in a remote village in northern Afghanistan.
There is no sign of the bride or groom, or any women, only men. Some of them are armed, some of them are taking drugs.
Almost everyone’s attention is focused on a 15-year-old boy. He’s dancing for the crowd in a long and shiny woman’s dress, his face covered by a red scarf.
He is wearing fake breasts and bells around his ankles. Someone offers him some US dollars and he grabs them with his teeth.
This is an ancient tradition. People call it bachabaze which literally means “playing with boys”.
The most disturbing thing is what happens after the parties. Often the boys are taken to hotels and sexually abused.
The men behind the practice are often wealthy and powerful. Some of them keep several bachas (boys) and use them as status symbols — a display of their riches. The boys, who can be as young as 12, are usually orphans or from very poor families.
