Sexuality and gender within Afghanistan's bacha bereesh population

• Date: 09 March 2023
• Pages: 580-609
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-04-2022-0096
• Published date: 09 March 2023
• Author: Elise E. Racine

Sexuality and gender within

Afghanistan’sbacha

bereesh population

Elise E. Racine

London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK and

University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Abstract

Purpose –Limited evidence exists on bacha bazi, Afghanistan’s steadily revived practice involving

transgenerational same-sex relationships, despite its frequent association with violence towards young males,

known as bacha bereesh. This paper aims to fill this critical gap.

Design/methodology/approach –The author conducted an integrative literature review using qualitative

and quantitative secondary data. An ecological framework for violence was applied to the findings.

Findings –The findings offer a comprehensive overview of bacha bazi in its modern form, including the

unique health needs, sexual practices, and gender identities and orientations of bacha bereesh. The author

reveals how Afghan masculine identities and male-male sexual activity occur in relation to power structures

and notions of honor. Numerous risk factors increasing bacha bereesh vulnerability for violence and socio-legal

barriers constraining access to crucial services are also discussed.

Research limitations/implications –Afghanistan’s shame-based culture limits accurate data collection by

obscuring the practice and stigmatizing bacha bereesh who serve in feminized roles.

Practical implications –The research highlights the inadequacies of applying Western gender-binary

frameworks to bacha bazi. It contributes to our understanding of sexuality, gender, masculinity, and male-

directed sexual violence within Afghan culture. These insights will help us better address the health needs of

this underserved population.

Originality/value –The lack of evidence addressing these topics highlights our paper’s originality, while the

literature firmly linking violence to poor physical and psychological health outcomes emphasizes the

importance of its contribution.

Keywords Bacha bazi,Bacha bereesh, Afghanistan, Male-male sexual activity, Gendered frameworks,

Violence, Sexual exploitation, Stigma, Ecological model

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Meaning “boy play”in Dari [1],bacha bazi is an ancient Central Asiaxtn practice involving

transgenerational same-sex relationships that has recently experie nced a revival in

Afghanistan. In its modern variation, it has become largely associated with violence as

adult males known as bacha baz,or“boy players,”exploit, abuse, and/or enslave young

males—including for forced social and/or sexual entertainment. These young males are

referred to as bacha bereesh (“beardless youth”/“beardless boy”), bacha (“boy”), halekon

(“splendid boy”), and “dancing boy.”For clarity, consistency, and out of respect for the

self-identification of this population, bacha bereesh will be the term utilized in this article.

Limited academic work discusses this steadily growing practice or the unique experiences,

health issues, sexual practices, and gender identities and orientations of the bacha bereesh

population. Investigating these topics, this article answers the following research questions:

RQ1. How do gender and sexuality intersect within Afghan culture? What does the

practice of bacha bazi reveal about these conceptualizations of gender and

sexuality?

EDI

42,5

580

The author thanks Professor Ernestina Coast, PhD who reviewed and commented on earlier versions of

this paper.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 26 April 2022

Revised 14 June 2022

Accepted 30 June 2022

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 42 No. 5, 2023

pp. 580-609

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-04-2022-0096

RQ2. How are members of the bacha bereesh demographic perceived within Afghan

society and internationally versus how they self-identify? What stigmas are

attached to their identity?

RQ3. What are the unique health needs, particularly sexual and reproductive health

(SRH), of bacha bereesh members before, during, and after their involvement in

bacha bazi? How do these conceptualizations, identities, and stigmas influence

health outcomes?

By synthesizing, critiquing, and building upon the existing evidence, this paper adds to the

studies which have documented the limitations of applying gender binarism to third gender

communities. In the process, it explores how the variance of activities documented within bacha

bazi (kidnappings, prostitution, pornography, beatings, forced physical labor) and wide age

range of bacha bereesh (9–25 years) complicates both word choice and health interventions.

While this addition to our knowledge is significant, this research’s impact extends further by

offering a new framework through which to regard the phenomenon. In uniquely applying an

ecological model to this case, we provide critical theoretical and practical insights into the

practice’s rise and impact. The literature firmly linking violence to poor physical and

psychological health outcomes emphasizes the importance of this contribution, while the lack of

research around sexuality in Afghan society and male-directed sexual violence in general

highlights its originality.

Context

After beginning with a brief prelude exploring the practice’s historical roots, we offer a

summary of the situation in Afghanistan from the 1970s until 2020. In addition to aiding in

the understanding of how bacha bazi has evolved into its modern variation, this synopsis

provides valuable insight into the conditions that have contributed to the phenomenon’s

re-emergence.The section then proceedswith an overview of masculinityand sexuality within

Afghan culturein which we illustrate the inadequaciesof recent Western discourses on bacha

bazi. Finally, it concludes with an introduction of theecological framework of violence.

Bacha bazi: A brief history

Bacha bazi’s existence within Central Asia dates back to at least the 9th century, with some

sources claiming it even predates the Islamic era, which is typically dated to begin in the 7th

century. Numerous written texts document the practice, includ ing Urdu ghazals [2] and Persian

poetry,songs, andartwork. The Afghanproverb “womenare for children,boys are for pleasure”

is said to have stemmed from Persian folk heritage and beauty standards upholding the penile-

anal penetration of “beautiful beardless boys”as the “ultimate sexual delight”(Murray et al.,

1997;Khan, 2008;Emadi, 2019). Western travel memoirs from the 19th and 20th centuries vilified

bacha bazi, which waned in large cities after the First World War due in part to the disproval of

colonial elites (Shay, 2006). The Soviet Union, for example, enacted a number of policies aimed at

its eradication. While the exact nature of these historical transgenerational same-sex

relationships cannot be confirmed, Ingeborg Baldauf wrote about the p ractice amongst the

Uzbek and Pashtun communities in Afghanistan in the 1970s. In her essay, she notes that

although the relationships could be platonic, they often had sexual connotations and involved

adult males anally penetrating younger males (cited in Khan, 2008).

Afghanistan: 1970s-2020

Conflict and instability have marred the last forty years in Afghanistan. In 1973, a non-violent

coup overthrew the Kingdom of Afghanistan, which had ruled since 1926. A second and

Afghanistan’s

bacha bereesh

population

581