Daily Times

The shame culture of Bacha Bazi (child sexual abuse) in Afghanistan continues to make the lives of young boys and children vulnerable. This institutionalized culture of Bacha Bazi, sexual exploitation and play boy business introduced Afghanistan in international community as an insecure state for children and women. Afghan army commanders, police officers and war criminals have been deeply involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and sexual abuse of children and teen soldiers. Insiders’ reports indicate that before sex with a child or a teen, outdated sexual encasement medicines are being used which can cause HIV and Aids in the ranks of armed forces and the police officers. These cases have been kept secret from media access, but one thing is clear that the number of HIV and Aids cases crossed the official figure two years ago, and at present, there are thousand cases of HIV and Aids existed across state institutions, cities and villages across the country.

Last week, Afghan army besieged the house of war criminal and Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum to arrest his bodyguards involved in the sexual abuse of former governor of Jowzjan province Ahmad Eshchi. Mr Eshchi was beaten, abused for hours and pictured in mobile phone by the bodyguards of Afghan Vice President. The Vice President has also been accused of having sex with the governor in his guest-room in the presence of his bodyguards. “You will not believe what I will say. He (Dostum) said first I want to have sex with him (Eshchi). He (Dostum) ordered his guys to lift me up, Eshchi said. In an interview with Tolo News Eshchi said: “I took Gen Dostum hand and greeted him. From that point, he started abusing me verbally. He told me that he knows what I have done. He told me he knows what my son has done. Who will look for you if I kill you here? I will throw you under the horses and do Buzkashi game on you. He called on his bodyguards and told them to grab me and beat me. He (Dostum) laid me on the ground and put his foot on my neck, Eshchi said.

According to AFP report, warlords, commanders, politicians and other members of the elite forces keep young boys, abuse them and take them to their houses. Members of parliament, members of local councils, provincial governors, mayors, judges, army officers and commanders, police officers, and local elders, all are directly or indirectly involve in sexual abuse case or Bacha Bazi. Transgender, gay-men, and transsexual people are under heavy pressure from the above mentioned state sponsored shame business of child sex and Bacha Bazi in Afghanistan. Numerous gay men from West and Europe also enjoy the nightclubs and safe houses in big cities. More than 100,000 street children and young girls are under threat from these wolves. Recent studies give us valid information on national and provincial level with regards to vulnerable young children within the armed forces, police and work placed who are being forcefully abused by the day.

In 1980s, Mujahideen commander, and in 1990s the Taliban commander were deeply involved in child sexual abuse. They took young boys to the front lines, and incarcerated them for months. Afghan government has not seriously considered the consequences of this national shame. In April 2015, Afghan intelligence arrested a 16 years old suicide bomber who admitted that he was sexually abused by three Taliban commanders all the night before adorning with suicide jacket in the morning. Two weeks ago my article appeared in Daily Times that made Afghan government reacted to the shame business and started cracking down on pedophile and criminalizing the sexual exploitation of children and young boys. The move, experts say would not succeed as parliamentarian, police and army commanders are deeply involved in this illegal business. Penal code of the afghan constitution does not contain any specific provision on the criminality of consensual same-sex sexual acts. Article 427 of the Afghan penal code states: “A person who commits adultery or pederasty will be sentenced to long imprisonment”.

Homosexuality in Afghanistan has now become a profitable business where warlords, professional criminals and traffickers purvey young boys to higher officials, parliamentarian and foreign friends. They also supply these kidnapped children to wedding parties, hotels, night’s clubs, where they are sexually abused. In Kabul’s night clubs, young boys are more expensive than the young girls and women. Like young boys, girls and women are also victim of sexual abuse. Afghan women already suffer violence and their rights and dignity are violated in various ways. Journalist Hujatullah Zia in one of his articles recently reported: “The outpouring of pain and anguish of Afghan women continues and they are still the inferior creature in the patriarchal system. Their voice and concerns fall on deaf ears. Their tendency towards democratization and their ideas regarding their own rights are considered brazen and against the social norm”.

The exponentially growing number of HIV and Aids cases has threatened the lives of poor and backward Afghan nation where thousands suffer these diseases. More than 3,000 new cases of HIV and 6,000 cases of Aids appeared in local media in 2016. The Department of Public Health in southern Herat recently recorded 33 cases of HIV/AIDS with four deaths, which showed 14 percent increase compared to 2016. According to the aid control program in Herat Province, in these cases 12 recent of those infected were women and five children. At only a few dollars per gram on the country’s streets, opiates like heroin, provide cheap relief from poverty and distress for a growing number of Afghans. Khaama press reported official in the Ministry of Health confirmed the increase in HIV/AIDS positive cases in the country. Deputy Public Health Minister Najia Tariq told reporters that the HIV/AIDS cases had increased by 38 percent as compared to last year. Speaking on the eve of world aid day, Mr Najia Tariq said at least 162 HIV/AIDS positive cases had been recorded across the country during the current year, while around 117 HIV positive cases were recorded in 2016.

The writer is author of “Fixing the EU Intelligence Crisis, can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com