by Minsoo Bae
The illusion that slavery is a mere artifact of the past has been long shattered. Afghanistan, in particular, remains a hotspot of this exploitation. Plagued by constant warfare and loose law persecution, Afghanistan is not only the hub of those trafficked internally, but also of those beyond the nation of Afghanistan (Trafficking). Forced labour, opium trafficking, suicide bombing and sexual abuse are all prevalent with the support of the bribed government officials (Trafficking). The chilling fact remains that the prominent reason behind the numerous cases of sex trafficking in Afghanistan emerges not from abductions and trickeries, but in the form of out-in-the-open selling of one's own children and wives. In the inherently male-dominant Afghanistan society, women and children are but mere second-class citizens sold and bought like cattle to feed the depraved desires of men.
As a culture veiled tightly in Islamic values, Afghanistan holds a multitude of social stigmas and religious prohibitions against sex outside of marriage. Decrees such as the 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women law further implements the ban of forced marriage and prostitution (Randall-Smith). On the surface, Afghanistan appears to be an unlikely habitat for any sex industry to breed upon. However, as stated a 2011 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report, these laws are hardly enforced; through analyzed data, it can be inferred that this law was brought up in only 4 percent of applicable situations (Randall-Smith). Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s adultery law known as zina (which condemns the sexually exploited victims) is diligently carried out (Randall-Smith). The irony remains that the victims of rape and forced prostitution themselves are imprisoned, while the sex industry leaders stay safe. The three prime ways through which victims are caught in sexual industry are as follows: women being bartered off in order to make up for their husband’s drug habits or their family’s poverty, boys being sold as sexual entertainment to wealthy men, and both international and local women, blinded by the promise of employment, being deceived into the sex industry.
According to the 2012 Human Right Watch report, a startling number of imprisoned women were found to have been coerced into the sex industry by their own families (Barr). Fueled by the thirst for drugs or inescapable indigence, it is often the women’s own in-laws or even the husbands who auctions them off (Hasrat-Nazimi). These findings are hardly surprising when accompanied by the statistic stating that more than 58 percent of the trafficked person’s families reportedly lack a source of income (“AFGHANISTAN: Urgent Need”). A conspicuous pattern seems to manifest itself when observing the details of these girls’ marriages; an astounding 81 percent of the victims were wedded off before the age of 18, while only 12.5 percent of those were with consent of the women (“AFGHANISTAN: Urgent Need”). There appears to be a discernible connection between early, forced marriages and bondage into the sex industry. Women—or girls, to be painfully specific—are demeaned to become live currency, purchased as pleased, under the patriarchic Afghanistan.
Another ostensible contradiction to the conservative Afghan society is the conventionality of the practice of ‘bacha bazi’. Referring to the acquiring of young boys as dancers —privately serving the primary purpose as sex slaves—, it is an old and rooted tradition prevalent among affluent men. While it is theoretically illegal, this activity hums through many communities, hushed and unreported. It is further spurred on by the fact that owning a boy in such way has become a status symbol; young boys are forced to endure a trauma they may never recover from simply to nourish the vane, hedonistic narcissism of these ostentatiously wealthy males. (Khumri)
Forced sexual labour usually occurs to the knowing consent of the families involved, either in order to sustain the crumbling economic structure of a household or simply out of greed for more money—only around 35 percent of victims are hoaxed into this industry (Summary). Serving as the beacon of the prostitution business, Afghanistan is also a harbor of much international trafficking. As exemplified by the two hundred Chinese prostitutes who were living in Kabul in 2008 after being mendaciously promised jobs, many are lured with the offers of high wages and exotic destinations, only to find out -belated- that reality is considerably more malicious (Randall-Smith). Multitudes of local women and children are, too, swindled by labour brokers who take them far away to reveal their new “jobs” that turn out to be completely disparate from the initial description (Trafficking).
Sexual trafficking is deeply embedded to the economic, social, and traditional roots of Afghanistan. Ranging from the most influential individuals to corrupt police officers to impoverished and desperate families, virtually no social sector is free from the stain left by this industry. All play their own roles in feeding this debauched corporation. There is no doubt that attempting to deracinate this core evil from Afghanistan will be a challenge, but it is undoubtedly an imperative one.
The illusion that slavery is a mere artifact of the past has been long shattered. Afghanistan, in particular, remains a hotspot of this exploitation. Plagued by constant warfare and loose law persecution, Afghanistan is not only the hub of those trafficked internally, but also of those beyond the nation of Afghanistan (Trafficking). Forced labour, opium trafficking, suicide bombing and sexual abuse are all prevalent with the support of the bribed government officials (Trafficking). The chilling fact remains that the prominent reason behind the numerous cases of sex trafficking in Afghanistan emerges not from abductions and trickeries, but in the form of out-in-the-open selling of one's own children and wives. In the inherently male-dominant Afghanistan society, women and children are but mere second-class citizens sold and bought like cattle to feed the depraved desires of men.
As a culture veiled tightly in Islamic values, Afghanistan holds a multitude of social stigmas and religious prohibitions against sex outside of marriage. Decrees such as the 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women law further implements the ban of forced marriage and prostitution (Randall-Smith). On the surface, Afghanistan appears to be an unlikely habitat for any sex industry to breed upon. However, as stated a 2011 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report, these laws are hardly enforced; through analyzed data, it can be inferred that this law was brought up in only 4 percent of applicable situations (Randall-Smith). Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s adultery law known as zina (which condemns the sexually exploited victims) is diligently carried out (Randall-Smith). The irony remains that the victims of rape and forced prostitution themselves are imprisoned, while the sex industry leaders stay safe. The three prime ways through which victims are caught in sexual industry are as follows: women being bartered off in order to make up for their husband’s drug habits or their family’s poverty, boys being sold as sexual entertainment to wealthy men, and both international and local women, blinded by the promise of employment, being deceived into the sex industry.
According to the 2012 Human Right Watch report, a startling number of imprisoned women were found to have been coerced into the sex industry by their own families (Barr). Fueled by the thirst for drugs or inescapable indigence, it is often the women’s own in-laws or even the husbands who auctions them off (Hasrat-Nazimi). These findings are hardly surprising when accompanied by the statistic stating that more than 58 percent of the trafficked person’s families reportedly lack a source of income (“AFGHANISTAN: Urgent Need”). A conspicuous pattern seems to manifest itself when observing the details of these girls’ marriages; an astounding 81 percent of the victims were wedded off before the age of 18, while only 12.5 percent of those were with consent of the women (“AFGHANISTAN: Urgent Need”). There appears to be a discernible connection between early, forced marriages and bondage into the sex industry. Women—or girls, to be painfully specific—are demeaned to become live currency, purchased as pleased, under the patriarchic Afghanistan.
Another ostensible contradiction to the conservative Afghan society is the conventionality of the practice of ‘bacha bazi’. Referring to the acquiring of young boys as dancers —privately serving the primary purpose as sex slaves—, it is an old and rooted tradition prevalent among affluent men. While it is theoretically illegal, this activity hums through many communities, hushed and unreported. It is further spurred on by the fact that owning a boy in such way has become a status symbol; young boys are forced to endure a trauma they may never recover from simply to nourish the vane, hedonistic narcissism of these ostentatiously wealthy males. (Khumri)
Forced sexual labour usually occurs to the knowing consent of the families involved, either in order to sustain the crumbling economic structure of a household or simply out of greed for more money—only around 35 percent of victims are hoaxed into this industry (Summary). Serving as the beacon of the prostitution business, Afghanistan is also a harbor of much international trafficking. As exemplified by the two hundred Chinese prostitutes who were living in Kabul in 2008 after being mendaciously promised jobs, many are lured with the offers of high wages and exotic destinations, only to find out -belated- that reality is considerably more malicious (Randall-Smith). Multitudes of local women and children are, too, swindled by labour brokers who take them far away to reveal their new “jobs” that turn out to be completely disparate from the initial description (Trafficking).
Sexual trafficking is deeply embedded to the economic, social, and traditional roots of Afghanistan. Ranging from the most influential individuals to corrupt police officers to impoverished and desperate families, virtually no social sector is free from the stain left by this industry. All play their own roles in feeding this debauched corporation. There is no doubt that attempting to deracinate this core evil from Afghanistan will be a challenge, but it is undoubtedly an imperative one.