Bacha Bazi

Bacha Bazi

Bacheh-baazi (Persian: بچه‌بازی, meaning "being into kids" or "being interested in children" in Iranian dialect and "playing with kids" in Afghani dialect), also known as bacchá (from the Persian bacheh بچه‌ "child, young man, kid") or bacha bereesh (beardless boy), is sexual slavery and child prostitution in which prepubescent and adolescent boys are sold to wealthy or powerful men for entertainment and sexual activities. This business thrives in Afghanistan, where many men keep them as status symbols. Some of the individuals involved report being forced into sex. The authorities are barely attempting to crack down on the practice but many doubt it would be effective since many of the men are powerful and well-armed former commanders.

A documentary film by Najibullah Quraishi about the practice was screened by the UK Royal Society of Arts on March 29, 2010 and aired by the U.S. TV series PBS Frontline on 20 April 2010. The practice is illegal under Afghan law, being "against both sharia law and the civil code", but the laws are seldom enforced against powerful offenders and police have been reportedly complicit in related crimes.

The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict reported in 2009, "It is time to openly confront this practice and to put an end to it. Religious leaders in Afghanistan appealed to me to assist them in combating these activities. Laws should be passed, campaigns must be waged and perpetrators should be held accountable and punished. Boys, as well as girls, should be protected so that they are allowed the full benefits of a childhood without exploitation."