Afghanistan to set penalties for subculture of boy slaves

‘Bacha bazi’ may be punishable by death under a new code

KABUL // Afghanistan is to lay out stringent penalties for “bacha bazi” – sexual slavery and abuse of boys – for the first time, officials said.

Last year it emerged that the Taliban were exploiting bacha bazi in police ranks to mount lethal insider attacks, exposing a hidden epidemic of kidnapping of young boys for institutionalised sexual slavery.

The revelations intensified long-standing demands by campaigners for Kabul to enact an incisive legal provision to curb bacha bazi – literally “boy play” – which has had a resurgence in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Punishments will now be listed in Afghanistan’s revised penal code – from up to 7 years in jail for sexual assault to capital punishment for “aggravated cases” such as violating more than one boy.

“There is an entire chapter on criminalising the practice in the new penal code,” said Nader Nadery, a senior adviser to president Ashraf Ghani.

“The code is expected to be adopted this month. This is going to be a significant step towards stopping this ugly practice.”

A draft of the chapter titled Driving Children Towards Moral Corruption states that bacha bazi victims cannot be prosecuted, a significant caveat in a nation where sex assault victims often face punishment.

Afghan criminal law previously prohibited only pederasty and sex outside of marriage, which human rights campaigners said did not sufficiently address the problem of bacha bazi.

“This chapter clearly defines it as a crime, leaving no room for ambiguity,” Mr Ghani’s legal adviser Nasrullah Stanekzai said. Aside from police commanders, warlords, politicians and other members of the Afghan elite often keep young boys as a symbol of authority and affluence. Sometimes the children are dressed effeminately, used as dancers at private parties and often sexually exploited.

The new code is expected to be adopted any time this month, says president’s aide