Bacha Bazi: Boys dressed as girls, forced to dance, and abused in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the brutal tradition of Bacha Bazi—the sexual exploitation of young boys—continues to thrive despite official bans and international condemnation. Footage, shared by British journalist and writer David Patrikarakos on social media, showed boys forced to dance for the Taliban, a harrowing precursor to systematic abuse. This centuries-old practice, deeply ingrained in Afghan society, has long been linked to military commanders, politicians, and local elites.

Strangely, the supreme Taliban leaders are against the Bacha Bazi practice but it is still being secretly practised by the military commanders, showing the loopholes in their rules framing, Daily Mail reported.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, they tried to curb this practice but made no efforts to actually stop it as secretly but still the military commanders followed it.

Even recently the US state department report has highlighted the systematic recruitment of boys for sexual slavery, with Afghan security forces among the perpetrators.

The horror of boy slaves is not confined to Afghanistan. In neighboring Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, young boys searching for work often fall prey to similar abuse. Many are lured by promises of employment but are instead trafficked and exploited by powerful men, including truck drivers and local elites. According to reports, these boys, often from impoverished families, become trapped in cycles of abuse with little hope of escape. The cultural silence surrounding their suffering mirrors the impunity with which Bacha Bazi operates in Afghanistan.

The trauma suffered by victims extends beyond abuse. Many turn to drugs to cope, while others are cast out once they age out of exploitation. Survivors have recounted severe physical injuries and psychological scars, with few avenues for justice in a society where the perpetrators are often the most powerful.

The West, despite its decades-long involvement in Afghanistan, failed to dismantle this horrific practice. During the US occupation, American soldiers reported hearing Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys on military bases, yet were ordered to turn a blind eye, as it was considered "their culture."

With Afghanistan now under Taliban rule, Bacha Bazi remains rampant, exacerbated by extreme gender segregation and the increasing oppression of women. Supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, an ultra-conservative figure with little regard for human rights, has enforced strict moral laws while failing to eradicate this abuse. His extremist policies have led to deep divisions within the Taliban’s leadership, yet his grip on power remains firm—an assertion also reported by Daily Mail.

The West may have withdrawn from Afghanistan, but its failure to protect the country’s most vulnerable lingers. The abandoned victims of Bacha Bazi —boys robbed of their childhood and dignity—serve as a grim testament to a conflict that ended, but left behind an enduring legacy of suffering, not just in Afghanistan but also in Pakistan, where similar atrocities continue in the shadows.