Another view: Abuse of boys is a shameful stain on our country

Decades of violence in Afghanistan have left my generation with the difficult task of ridding our society of its legacy: warlordism, criminality, corruption and impunity. The Afghan people have suffered for far too long.

The abuse of boys has been a disgusting part of this legacy. Pedophilia is not part of Afghan culture, and not accepted by the Afghan people. It is an offense to Islam, illegal under Afghan law and condemned by the government.

Its practice among warlords and militia commanders sprouted during times of guerrilla and civil war, and is a shameful stain on our country. The government is working hard to rectify the damage that decades of violence have wrought on our society.

With strong political will since 2014, the government has taken action against corruption and impunity, of which abuse of boys has been a terrible symptom. Shortly after President Ashraf Ghani took office, he addressed the problem directly: “I’m not going to tolerate this. To the extent to which the authority of the state can be harnessed to this task, we are going to focus on it and not permit it.”

Over the past three years, major reforms in the security sector have been underway at the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. Security personnel have been rescreened and revetted, and those without clean slates removed.

The Interior Ministry is in the process of identifying and installing new police leadership, weeding out those who abused power. Multiple criminal cases, including for abuse of boys, are being prosecuted. Last month, the government signed a new Child Protection Policy, launched with support from our U.S. allies, who agree that such crimes are intolerable.

The security sector reforms are only a part of the Afghan government’s efforts to restore justice and integrity to our society. The abuse of boys by men in positions of power is a symptom of the rampant impunity and corruption allowed to fester for decades. As we eliminate those ills, we also eliminate those symptoms, which have no place in the New Afghanistan my generation is creating under the leadership of reformist President Ashraf Ghani.