Prostitution in Afghanistan

Prostitution in Afghanistan is illegal. Prostitution is when someone does a sex act in exchange for money or other payment. Punishments range from five to fifteen years in prison.[1] The country is deeply religious. It is one of the most conservative countries in the world. Sex outside marriage is against the law and can be punished with death.[2][3]

Because most people in Afghanistan are poor, or they have been displaced, more and more have become prostitutes.[4][5] APMG Health estimated there were12,500 prostitutes in the country in 2015.[6] In 2020 UNAIDS estimated there were 11,000 prostitutes in Kabul, Herat, Mazar and Jalalabad based on a 2019 survey.[7] Before the foreign troops left the country, many of the brothels and prostitutes were located close to US bases.[8]

A number of women from China, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan have been trafficked into Afghanistan, to become prostitutes.[9] Afghan women are also trafficked to other countries for sexual exploitation. Child prostitution in the form of Bacha Bazi is also a problem in the country.[9]

The Taliban, who have again come to power in 2021, have values that are deeply rooted in Islamic ethics. They have punished unmarried people with up to 80 lashes.[1] Married prostitutes are considered adulterers, under Afghan law.

Even before the Talian took control of the country, Islamic fundamentalists have killed people for having sex outside marriage, without waiting for a state trial. Prostitution is seen as very bad. To keep the family in good standing, prostitutes sometimes get killed by members of their own family.

Examples

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  • In July 2008, two women were accused of running a secret prostitution service and working for the police. The Taliban in the Ghazni Province killed them, although the local authorities as well as the American military in the area at the time claimed the women were innocent.[10]
  • Two women accused of prostitution were shot dead in July 2010.[11]

Situation

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In the 1990s, prostitution existed in secret in Kabul. The government who followed a very strict interpretation of the Islamic Sharia law had made it illegal. Melissa Ditmore reported in Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work that during their rule the traffic in women for prostitution had increased.[12][13] Prostitutes mostly worked from their homes. These were called Qalas. In Kabul there were 25 to 30 hidden brothels.[13][14][15]

Because women were not allowed to work during the Taliban regime of the 1990s, this forced many children to enter the sex trade to make a living.[16] According to the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, women from Iran, Tajikistan, China, and other places have been forced into prostitution in Afghanistan.[17]

Many people have lived in Afghanistan as refugees. Most of these came from neighboring countries. There have been reports that Afghan women as well as boys and girls among these refugees were forced into prostitution.[5] Because of poverty, several families have also been reported to be selling their children.[5]

A 2007 University of Manitoba report suggests that there may be about 900 female prostitutes in Kabul.[18] Kabul is a city with a population of over 4 million today.[19] Latest estimates show that there may be between 11,000 and 12,500 sex workers in the country.[6][7][20] Between 2007 and 2008, two to three people were arrested because of prostitution per week, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry's department of sexual crimes.[18]

In Afghan culture and traditions, prostitution is seen as very shameful. Sometimes, religious extremists, kill prostitutes.[10] In some cases, prostitutes get killed by members of their own family:

"Prostitution is in every country that has poverty, and it exists in Afghanistan. But society has black glasses and ignores these problems. Tradition is honor, and if we talk about these taboos, then we break tradition."[18]

— Orzala Ashraf, women's rights activist

Temporary marriages

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Nikah mut'ah is a fixed-term marriage in Shia Islam; most other Muslims reject the idea.[21] There have also been some reports about Mut'ah (Fegha in Persian language) beginning to be practiced in Mazar-i-Sharif.

"Nobody would give me their daughters to marry because I didn't have family or money. I started doing 'short marriages' in Iran. When I came back to Mazar-i-Sharif, I continued."[21]

— Payenda Mohammad, a mechanic in Mazari-i-Sharif, 2006.

Bacha bazi

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Like in many other Islamic countries, it is a major taboo in Afghan culture for women to openly dance in front of men. Males and females are separated during weddings and other parties. As a form of adult entertainment, young males dress as females and dance in front of men to make money. "Bacha bereesh" (meaning "boys without beards" in Persian language) occasionally dance to entertain men at certain parties, especially in the north parts of Afghanistan.[22] Powerful patrons sometimes sexually exploit the dancers.[23][24] It is estimated that about 10,000 men across Afghanistan engage in sexual activities with other men.[7]

The "Curse of 39"

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In some parts of Afghanistan, people believe that the number 39 is cursed or a badge of shame: They say it is linked with prostitution.[25]

It is unclear, why the number is undesirable. It has often been associated with a pimp, who was living in Herat: This pimp had the nickname "39", after the number plate of his expensive car, and the number of his apartment.[26] The number is said to translate into morda-gow, literally meaning "dead cow" but a well-known slang term for a pimp. Others have blamed corrupt police officials for spreading the rumour in order to charge between $200–500 to change a "39" plate.[27]

Vehicle registration plates with the number are seen as so undesirable that vehicles and apartments bearing the numerals are said to be virtually unsellable in the capital, Kabul.[28] The drivers of such vehicles have reported abuse and derision from pedestrians and other drivers. Some have had their registration plates altered to hide the numbers. One such driver, Zalmay Ahmadi, told The Guardian: "When I drive around all the other cars flash their lights, beep their horns and people point at me. All my classmates now call me Colonel 39."[26] Number plates containing '39' were withdrawn in early 2021.[29]

Human trafficking

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 In 2019, the United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons downgraded Afghanistan to a 'Tier 2 watchlist' country'.[30] In 2020, it further downgraded the country to 'Tier 3'. The Government of Afghanistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.[31] The country remained in 'Tier 3' in 2021.[9]

Women and girls from China, Iran, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Tajikistan have been subject to sex trafficking in Afghanistan. Afghan women, and children pay other people to help them find a job abroad. In most cases, they want to work in Iran, Pakistan, and in Europe. Some of these people force them into sex trafficking.[9]

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2008 Human Rights Report: Afghanistan". US Department of State. 2008. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  2. ↑ "An Afghan city economic success extend to its sex trade". Azam Ahmed. The New York Times. April 17, 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Carlotta Gall (19 March 2007). "A New Sorrow for Afghanistan: AIDS Joins List (page 1)". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  4. ↑ Glinski, Stefanie (14 June 2021). "'I'm sacrificing myself': agony of Kabul's secret sex workers". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Tahir Qadiry (18 May 2008). "Under wraps, prostitution rife in north Afghanistan". Reuters. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Burrows, D.; McCallum, L.; Parsons, D.; Falkenberry, H. (April 2019). "Global Summary of Findings of an Assessment of HIV Service Packages for Key Populations in Six Regions" (PDF). APMG Health. Washington, DC. p. 134. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Afghanistan". www.unaids.org. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Vine, David (8 October 2017). "Women's labor, sex work and U.S. military bases abroad". Salon. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Afghanistan 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report". United States Department of State. Retrieved 22 August 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Afghan women shot dead by Taleban". BBC News. 13 July 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  11. ↑ Jafar Tayar (7 July 2010). "Women barred from venturing out of homes". Pajhwok Afghan News. Archived from the original on 4 August 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  12. ↑ Ditmore, Melissa Hope (2006). Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 392. ISBN 978-0-313-32968-5.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Prostitution Under the rule of Taliban". RAWA. August 1999. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  14. ↑ M. Ilyas Khan (August 1999). "Beyond Good or Evil". The Herald Magazine. RAWA. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "RAWA Interview with some prostitutes". RAWA. June 2002. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  16. ↑ Cesar Chelala (17 July 1999). "Taliban conducts a war against women". The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  17. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010". United States Embassy in Kabul. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2010. Women and girls from Iran, Tajikistan, and possibly Uganda and China are forced into prostitution in Afghanistan. Some international security contractors may have been involved in the sex trafficking of these women. Brothels and prostitution rings are sometimes run by foreigners, sometimes with links to larger criminal networks. Tajik women are also believed to be trafficked through Afghanistan to other countries for prostitution. Trafficked Iranian women transit Afghanistan en route to Pakistan.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Alisa Tang (14 June 2008). "Poverty pushes Afghan girls into sex trade". USA Today. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  19. ↑ "Population". National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA). www.nsia.gov.af. Retrieved 2021-03-04.[permanent dead link]
  20. ↑ "Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". UNAIDS. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Shoib Najafizada (April 22, 2006). "Temporary marriage catches on in Afghanistan". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  22. ↑ Ghaith Abdul-Ahad (12 September 2009). "The dancing boys of Afghanistan". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  23. ↑ "Afghan 'Dancing Boys' Tell Of Rape, Abuse". www.rferl.org. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  24. ↑ "Afghan boy dancers sexually abused by former warlords". Reuters. 18 November 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  25. ↑ Nissenbaum, Dion (15 June 2011). "A Symbol of Paid Companionship, No. 39 Is Afghans' Loneliest Number". The Wall Street Journal.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Boone, Jon (15 June 2011). "The curse of number 39 and the steps Afghans take to avoid it". The Guardian.
  27. ↑ "Re-Creating Afghanistan: Returning to Istalif". NPR. 1 August 2002.
  28. ↑ Shalizi, Hamid (15 June 2011). "Cursed number "39" haunts Afghan car owners". Reuters.
  29. ↑ Farmer, Ben (15 January 2021). "Afghanistan retires cursed '39' number plates over prostitution stigma". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  30. ↑ "Afghanistan 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report". United States Department of State. Retrieved 14 March 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  31. ↑ "Afghanistan 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report". United States Department of State. Retrieved 4 March 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.