U.S. Soldiers told to ignore sex abuse of boys

[bronxgirl]

this is gut wrenching. I cannot imagine what those boys go through or being a soldier having to listen to it and be powerless to stop it.

[cville]

I read this story, cried, raged, thought about talking about it with my husband and decided not to because of my inability to articulate my anger and distress, and rocked my baby boy to sleep like I haven't since he was 5 months old.

This has made me heartsick.

[eclaires]

My brother says that special forces commanders (like him) are not supposed to follow orders they believe are immoral or unethical but that often the fall guy in situations like this is usually the first officer in the chain.

Anyway, my issue with this is that this is obviously a policy that is coming from the top down, but will those people take ownership of that? No of course not. The young boys will continue to be abused and the soldiers will continue to be told to do nothing. It's crazy to think that it would be some random officer telling his guys that - it's clearly something someone deems politically expedient or necessary for whatever policy or goal they have.

[josieposy]

I purposely avoided this all day today. Now that I've read it, I mean there really aren't words.

[laurack]

This is horrific. I can't even form words. I am sickened

[jln]

I'm so sickened that we send young men and women into war to see things like this, then do absolutely nothing for their mental well-being when they return. We use them and then toss them aside. We as a country have got to do better.

[whatnext]

Sept 21, 2015 19:44:48 GMT -5 Dig Ophelia said:

Sept 21, 2015 19:13:12 GMT -5 heyjude said:

FIFY

I agree with your changes to my post.  I hate that I do because I've had issues with men (as a whole) in the past and I've worked to get it under control and I know I'm projecting a lot here, but I'm becoming so jaded towards them again, as a group.  I'm just so tired of men thinking they can put their hands on and their dicks in anyone they want, and do anything they want, where ever they want, whenever they want.  I get so angry, I don't know what to do with myself. 

This is where I am at the moment. I struggle not to be for so many reasons but keep landing at this point

[summer]

FP: Bacha Bazi: An Afghan Tragedy

[SwimDeep]

Sept 22, 2015 3:18:22 GMT -5 summer said:

FP: Bacha Bazi: An Afghan Tragedy

I have no words

[WanderingWinoZ]

Sept 22, 2015 3:18:22 GMT -5 summer said:

FP: Bacha Bazi: An Afghan Tragedy

Gak! that's horrific.

I guess I don't understand how these strict "religious" types are ok with non-marital sex & especially homosexual sex (forgetting the minor part).  Do the Muslim faith just look the other way?

From the article: "The Taliban had a deep aversion towards bacha bazi, outlawing the practice when they instituted strict nationwide sharia law."
===========


Many "chai boys" are now semi-formal apprentices to their powerful male companions. Military officials have observed that Afghan families with an abundance of children are often keen to provide a son to a warlord or government official – with full knowledge of the sexual ramifications – in order to gain familial prestige and monetary compensation. Whereas bacha bazi is now largely consensual and non-violent, its evolution into an institutionalized practice within rural Pashtun and Tajik society is deeply disturbing.

Urgh- consensual & non-violent??? I doubt that- even if a family is giving up a son, the child didn't consent!!!



The fact that bacha bazi, which has normalized sodomy and child abuse in rural Afghan society, developed within a deeply fundamentalist Islamic region of the world is mystifying. According to a 2009 Human Terrain Team study titled "Pashtun Sexuality," Pashtun social norms dictate that bacha bazi is not un-Islamic or homosexual at all — if the man does not love the boy, the sexual act is not reprehensible, and is far more ethical than defiling a woman.



Sheltered by their pastoral setting and unable to speak Arabic — the language of all Islamic texts — many Afghans allow social customs to trump religious values, including those Quranic verses eschewing homosexuality and promiscuity. Warlords who have exploited Islam for political or personal means have also promulgated tolerance for bacha bazi. The mujahideen commanders are a perfect example of this — they fought communism in the name of jihad and mobilized thousands of men by promoting Islam, while sexually abusing boys and remaining relatively secular themselves.

There my answer to my above quewstion....

[WanderingWinoZ]

Somebody mentioned this phrase above, but I didn't understand the context. Not that it's good for women that these men are taking out their sexual deviancy on boys, but maybe they are being spared some sexual violence??

A second corrupting, and perhaps surprising, consequence of bacha bazi is its negative impact on women’s rights in Afghanistan. It has become a commonly accepted notion among Afghanistan’s latent homosexual male population that "women are for children, and boys are for pleasure." Passed down through many generations and spurred by the vicious cycle created by the pedophile-victim relationship, many Afghan men have lost their attraction towards the opposite gender. Although social and religious customs still heavily dictate that all men must marry one or more women and have children, these marriages are often devoid of love and affection, and are treated as practical, mandated arrangements.