The $30 million aid suspension's devastating impact

The suspension of international aid following the Taliban's return to power in 2021 has left victims of Bacha Bazi with limited access to support and rehabilitation,exacerbating the cycle of abuse.

According to a recent report by the US State Department, child soldier recruitment, human trafficking, and Bacha Bazi continue in Afghanistan, with local commanders and influential figures among the main perpetrators.

The absence of any services to recover or rehabilitate boys who are caught in this horrendous abuse makes it hard to know what happens to these children .

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The roots of Bacha Bazi stretch back to at least the 13th century, but its most infamous resurgence came during the Mujahideen's war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Afghan commanders who fought in the resistance were notorious for keeping young boys as their personal possessions, treating them as status symbols as well as objects of abuse.

Once in their captors' hands, the children are forced to wear women's clothing and subjected to systematic sexual abuse.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

Despite the Taliban's public claims to oppose the practice, it continues as an open secret.

Survivors who have escaped speak of beatings, rape, and psychological torment, and many turn to prostitution, drug addiction, or suicide.

A recent report suggests it remains widespread, with local commanders and influential figures among the main perpetrators.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The US State Department in its latest Trafficking in Persons report found that child soldier recruitment, human trafficking, and Bacha Bazi continue in Afghanistan .

The report said the Taliban recruit children through coercion and deception, including false promises, and documented cases of Bacha Bazi involving Taliban officials as well as other armed groups.

Survivors told investigators that local commanders and influential figures are now among the main perpetrators but that before the Taliban's 2021 takeover, military commanders,police officers, and government officials were also involved.