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Today I want to talk about something I've never talked about here before. Something I don't see other people talk about either, even though it is quite important.
In everyday slang we refer to it as "bacha baazi".
In everyday slang we refer to it as "bacha baazi".
The word as it means in Pakistan is somewhat different from the practice it refers to in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, its simply used to refer to the practice of older men forming sexual relations with young boys in their childhood and early teenage years.
I believe the English word for this practice is "pederasty".
How common is it in Pakistan? Common enough. Where I grew up, I know a number of kids who were raped in their childhoods by older men. Happens in both rural and urban areas.
How common is it in Pakistan? Common enough. Where I grew up, I know a number of kids who were raped in their childhoods by older men. Happens in both rural and urban areas.
Having talked to guys from different cities about this, I know that it's not a problem unique to just one or two cities in Pakistan, but is rather common all across the country.
Harassment and assault, especially, are extremely common.
Harassment and assault, especially, are extremely common.
Since the kids who're targeted are usually quite young, they often don't understand what happened until many years have passed.
Most of the time, the perpetrators are men the kids know and often even trust: neighbors, uncles, older cousins, rickshaw/bus drivers.
Most of the time, the perpetrators are men the kids know and often even trust: neighbors, uncles, older cousins, rickshaw/bus drivers.
Whenever mention of bacha baazi comes up among men, it's usually as a joke, something to be laughed away. As with rape cases in general, bacha baazi cases are rarely reported due to the social stigma attached. If they are reported, they can't be prosecuted under rape laws.
Since Pakistani law defines rape as forceful intercourse of a man with a woman. Male-on-male rapes are prosecuted under the sodomy law, which covers "intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" and carries a lower sentence.
Victims' families are often pressurized and blackmailed into taking back the case.
I don't think I need to talk about the trauma these kids go through. Many of them end up blaming themselves. Some become suicidal and start self harming.
I don't think I need to talk about the trauma these kids go through. Many of them end up blaming themselves. Some become suicidal and start self harming.
Some internalize the violence, and start targeting other kids when they grow up. Its a violent cycle that doesn't seem to end.
Especially considering how the taboo around rape and the patriarchal idea of men not showing weakness come together to form a particular environment.
Especially considering how the taboo around rape and the patriarchal idea of men not showing weakness come together to form a particular environment.
Survivors can't discuss their trauma with anyone, often not even with their closest friends. They're often unable to seek help. If they confide in anyone, they're often ridiculed and laughed at.
Here is Dawn's 2014 article about Mohammed Naqvi's short film Pakistan's Hidden Shame, which discusses sexual abuse of small boys in Pakhtunkhwa: https://www.dawn.com/news/1129614
Here is Zainab Nisar's 2018 blog post about sexual abuse of male children in Peshawar: https://www.pakistanshiddenshame.org/single-post/2018/01/07/Culture-and-abuse-in-Peshawar
Here is a 2010 blog post by Hamid Gondal, a lawyer who discusses his experience with pederasty cases in Punjab and Islamabad:
https://gondals.blogspot.com/2010/10/sodomy-pakistans-national-hobby.html
https://gondals.blogspot.com/2010/10/sodomy-pakistans-national-hobby.html
