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This is 100% spin. Bacha Bazi existed before, during, and after the Taliban's reign. Not only that, there were plenty of circumstances where the victims were ch
by least 5y ago
This is 100% spin. Bacha Bazi existed before, during, and after the Taliban's reign. Not only that, there were plenty of circumstances where the victims were charged with homosexuality crimes during the Taliban's reign instead of the perpetrators. It's deeply entrenched in Pashtun culture and has been a thing for centuries. I'm not suggesting this makes it an acceptable practice, but it does explain why it remains prevalent to date and is not a determinant factor in "winning the hearts and minds" of the Afghan people.
Afghanistan is an extremely fractured nation where the central government does not have absolute control or ability to govern many of the provinces. Pashtuns are tribal and a lot of conflicts stem from Pashtunwali, essentially a code of conduct, which one of its core pillars is revenge. This creates never ending conflicts between tribes that have wronged each other. They're simply not united. Even during the Taliban's reign, they did not have complete control over the country. The Northern Alliance still controlled the Northern part of the country (which is the vector from which we begun operations with Special Forces assisting the Northern Alliance in defeating the Taliban).
This, along with the racial tensions where the affluent in Afghanistan tend to be Tajiks and have wielded a lot of political power despite being a vast minority in the state are probably bigger contributors. All the Taliban need to do is convince the warlord of a given area and they will effective control that area.
- numair 5y agoSimple questions for you: you seem to have a very detailed opinion of the way the Afghan people think and behave. How many are within your group of friends with whom you communicate on a regular basis? How many have provided an opinion or insight on your analysis of their situation? Have you spent any time anywhere near the region?
- remarkEon 5y agoI’ve witnessed this first hand and the comment you are replying to is accurately representing the history here.
- nate_meurer 5y agoReally, one hundred percent? Not just ninety-five? :) > [Bacha Bazi] is not a determinant factor in "winning the hearts and minds" of the Afghan people. This rather famous report written by the US military disagrees: By some accounts, the first incident that brought Mullah Omar and the Taliban to prominence in the eyes of the Pashtun people actually involved a dispute between two warlords over a particularly attractive halekon. This dispute took the pedophilia of the warlords to such an extreme that the locals themselves were repulsed and happy to embrace a force of reform. and: Even where the halekon tradition is not "celebrated "per se, it appears to underlie a number of Pashtun social structures, most notably the recruitment of very young "soldiers" by commanders of paramilitary groups. (This is so much true even today, that current law prohibits "beardless boys" living in Afghan military and police stations.) This in turn fits under the traditional warrior ethos which defines the role of men within Pashtun culture. This dynamic played a major role in the functioning of the warlord culture that preceded the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. From https://info.publicintelligence.net/HTT-PashtunSexuality.pdf https://info.publicintelligence.net/HTT-PashtunSexuality.pdf - "Pashtun Sexuality"
- least 5y agoThis report doesn't actually disagree with my assessment and in fact largely reinforces it. Cherry-picking one line that is contemplating on the motives behind Afghans celebrating the Taliban's intervention is not an argument against the premise that bacha bazi is deeply entrenched in Pashtun culture and thus would not be a determinant factor in gaining widespread support of a nation comprised mostly of Pashtuns.
- nate_meurer 5y agoWell... you might be right. This report does also highlight the widespread recognition that the Taliban are hypocrites who "hid their halekon in their madrasas". You're also right that the line I quoted pertains only to the early days of the Taliban's rise, and not necessarily to the rest of the conflict.