Wealthy strongmen recruit adolescent boys for entertainment and sex,
with the local authorities powerless to stop the practice.
By Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi in Mazar-e-Sharif
"Some men enjoy playing with dogs, some with women. I enjoy playing
with boys," said Allah Daad, a one-time mujahedin commander in the
northern Afghan province of Kunduz.
He is one of a growing number of men involved in what is known
as "bacha baazi"— literally, "boy-play" — a time-honoured tradition,
deplored by human rights activists and clerics, that is seeing a
revival in the relatively secure north of Afghanistan.
The boys are kept by powerful older men, made to dance at special
parties, and often sexually abused afterwards. Known as "bacha
bereesh" - literally, "beardless boys", they are under 18, with 14
the preferred age.
"When I was young, I had a bacha bereesh who was the best in the
region," recalled Allah Daad, 44. "He danced like a flying
pigeon.... Nobody could take his place afterwards. I kept him for
three years, then left him when he matured."
Allah Daad has kept many boys over the years, and says he enjoys
his "hobby". "I am married, but I prefer boys to women," he
said. "You can't take women with you to parties in this region, and
you can't make them dance. These boys are our [mark of] prestige."
Large halls known as "qush-khana" provide the venues for bacha baazi
parties where the boys' "owners" or "kaatah" invite their friends to
watch them dancing. Late in the night, when the dancing is over, the
boys are often shared with close friends, for sexual abuse.
Allah Daad explained how the boys are enticed into the
arrangement. "First we select boys in the village and later on we
try to trick them into coming with us," he said. "Some of them stay
with us for money; they get a monthly allowance, and in return we
can have them any time we want. They don't stay with us all the
time - they can do their own jobs and then just come to parties with
us."
If a boy refuses to become a bacha bereesh, he said, there is little
a man can do to make him. "We can't force them," he insisted. "Only
the very powerful can have boys with them all the time."
The owner will take his boy to wedding parties to show him off to
other men.
"When the party starts, the boys are dressed in special clothes,
called `jaaman'," continued Allah Daad. "Then Mazari dancing bells
are tied to their feet and they dance in time to the music."
Several different types of dances are popular, he explained, each
with its own beat. If the boy refuses to dance or performs badly,
his master beats him with a long stick.
"We have to do that," said Allah Daad. "We spend money on these
boys, so they have to dance."
Allah Dad's current bacha, who is 16, refused to be interviewed.
Another owner forced his 14-year-old boy to speak, although he would
not give his name.
"I was dancing last night," he said, looking exhausted. "I have been
doing this for the past year. I have no choice - I'm poor. My father
is dead, and this is the only source of income for me and my family.
I try to dance well, especially at huge parties. The men throw money
at me, and then I gather it up. Sometimes they take me to the market
and buy me nice clothes."
The tradition of older men maintaining adolescent boys is by no
means restricted to the north of Afghanistan, but the custom is in
abeyance in the south, where the Taleban and their strict moral code
act as a deterrent.
In the north, no such curbs exist, and bacha baazi has seen a
massive resurgence in the past few years.
"Bacha baazi has increased tremendously lately and is still on the
rise," said Baz Gul, a resident of Kunduz. "In the past, people were
ashamed of it, and tried to hide it. Now nobody is shy about it, and
they participate openly in these parties."
He explained that there were several reasons why the practice had
become more common, one of which was the growing influence of local
strongmen, who regard bacha baazi as status symbols.
These militia commanders are supposed to have demobilised their
forces and handed over their weapons, but many still rule the roost
on the ground and retain the power to intimidate the local
population.
Baz Gul said poverty was another reason why boys could find
themselves ensnared, while the government had failed to do much
about the problem and its police force enjoyed little public
confidence.
"It used to be that only a few people had boys. Now everyone owns
one and the authorities don't care about it at all," he said. "It's
got to the point where almost no party takes place without dancing
boys. It's seen as a disgrace if you don't have dancing boys at your
wedding. This has led to a rise in immoral behaviour among boys, and
if nothing is done about it, this trend will continue."
For some, a bacha bereesh is a status symbol.
"I am not really rich, but I am just as good as the wealthy," said
Nasruddin, known as Nasro Bay, who lives in Baghlan province. "I
want as many bacha bereesh as possible, so that when I go to parties
I am no worse than anybody else."
Nasro Bay insisted that the dancing boy tradition was a good one.
"It's a good thing," he said. "We have our own culture. In foreign
countries, the women dance. We have our own dances which don't exist
anywhere else in the world."
Militia commanders and other men of substance buy and sell good-
looking boys, using the bacha baazi parties as marketplaces.
"Commanders and wealthy men arrange parties in order to select a
bacha bereesh," said Nek Mohammad, a resident of Baghlan's Andarab
district who frequently attends dance parties, although he does not
own a bacha bereesh himself. "Many of the men make their boys dance
at these parties, and other men choose one and pay for him. By the
end of the party, the boy has acquired a new owner."
He said substantial amounts of money changes hands in these
transactions.
Like Nasro Bay, Nek Mohammad sees public ostentation as part of the
bacha baazi tradition.
"Commanders often take their boys to a market and buy them beautiful
clothes, as a challenge to other commanders. Sometimes they even
give them cars. That gives them a very big reputation," he said.
Religious scholars condemn the custom, which they count as one of
the most sinful acts possible.
"Making boys dance and sexually abusing them is strictly prohibited
by Islam," said Mawlawi Ghulam Rabbani, a religious leader in Takhar
province. "Those who engage in it should be punished. They should be
thrown off a mountain and stoned to death."
Local officials admit the practice is prevalent but are at a loss as
to how to combat it.
"Yes, bacha baazi is practiced a great deal, especially in the Khost-
o-Fering and Andarab districts," said Hafizullah Khaliqyar, head of
the prosecutor's office for Baghlan province. "Boys are forced to
dance, they are sexually abused, and they are even bought and sold.
Fights take place over these bacha bereesh. It's increasing day by
day, and it's catastrophic."
Khaliqyar said there was little that prosecutors could do. "The
police and district heads won't cooperate with us," he
complained. "They don't send us their files, so we can't take
action."
He said the paramilitary commanders involved were so powerful that
no one – not even the police – would raise a hand against them.
"Regional commanders engage in this practice and support it," he
said. "They have money, power and weapons, and neither the district
heads nor the local population dares to tell us about this."
However, Khaliqyar said he is committed to fighting the practice and
had had some successes.
"We treat this matter very seriously. It's against the law, and the
perpetrators should be punished," he said.
Police in Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan, recently raided a
bacha-baazi hall and arrested 30 men. "Their case is currently with
the Supreme Court. We have sent several men to prison on these types
of charges," said Khaliqyar.
In Takhar province, the head of the local security agencies, General
Sayed Ahmad Saame, also complained about lack of cooperation from
the public.
"We have closed every bacha baazi centre we have found," he
said. "We have forwarded seven cases to the prosecutor's office so
far this year."
But there is only so much the police can do. "This practice has such
a long history in this province that local people treat it as a
respected custom, and won't cooperate with us. This is a serious
obstacle to our work," said Saame.
General Asadullah Amarkhail, the security chief in Kunduz, agreed
that public cooperation was needed if the practice was to be curbed,
although to date 27 people had been arrested in his province.
Mohammad Zaher Zafari, head of the northern branch of the Afghan
Independent Human Rights Commission, bemoaned the government's
inability to take action.
"Unfortunately I have to say that this type of dancing, sexual abuse
and even the sale of boys has been going on for years," he said. "It
is a despicable culture. The boys involved are usually poor,
underage or orphans, and they are forced into it by their economic
circumstances.
"It's shocking from both a humanitarian and a legal point of view.
The boys who do this have a very dark future ahead of them – they
will always be ashamed and they grow into frustrated human beings,
and, pose a threat to community. The government has taken no action
on this issue, and child abuse is still being practiced."
Khaliqyar took a similar view of the damage done to the bacha
bereesh, saying it destroys their identity.
"If the United Nations and the government don't take this issue as
seriously as they do child-trafficking and drug-smuggling, and
punish the offenders, it's going to be almost impossible to prevent
it," he said.
Je sais pas si faut en rire ou quoi mais en tt cas c est une idée plutot insolite venant de militaires americains quand on sait que la regle "don t ask, don't tell" est tres courante en ce qui concerne l homosexualite au sein de leur armée et que de militaires sont réguliérement dégradés pour être homosexuels.
Peut etre un side effect de l amitie viril ou trop de temps passé dans les casernes a faire des tours de garde, on se croirait dans "Lysis tratta " de Ralf Koenig. Hehe, c est pleins de folles honteuses l amée.
Although rumours about the ‘gay bomb’ initially surfaced in 2004, San Francisco's CBS 5 News station reported last Friday that Pentagon officials admitted military leaders had considered, and then subsequently rejected, building the so-called gay bomb in 1994.
A military watchdog group that tracks military spending revealed that it has uncovered a US military proposal to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly cause enemy soldiers "sexually irresistible" to each other.
"The Department of Defense is committed to identifying, researching and developing non-lethal weapons that will support our men and women in uniform," said a DOD spokesperson, who indicated that the "gay bomb" idea was quickly dismissed.
He added that the government records he obtained suggest the military gave the plan much stronger consideration than it has acknowledged.
Edward Hammond, of Berkeley's Sunshine Project, had used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. The documents show the Air Force lab asked for US.5 million for a six-year project. An Air Force lab reportedly sent a proposal to the Pentagon which suggested weaponising "strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behaviour."
"The Ohio Air Force lab proposed that a bomb be developed that contained a chemical that would cause enemy soldiers to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistibly attractive to one another," Hammond said after reviewing the documents.
"The notion was that a chemical that would probably be pleasant in the human body in low quantities could be identified, and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical, the notion was that soldiers would become gay," explained Hammond.
"The truth of the matter is it would have never come to my attention if it was dismissed at the time it was proposed," he added. "In fact, the Pentagon has used it repeatedly and subsequently in an effort to promote non-lethal weapons, and in fact they submitted it to the highest scientific review body in the country for them to consider."
Gay community leaders in California were quoting as saying that they found the idea of a "gay bomb" both offensive and almost laughable at the same time.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found evidence that the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, also sharply increases the risk of certain types of throat cancer and is more often seen in men.
Published in the May 10 edition of New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the study found that having multiple oral sex partners tops the list of sex practices that boosts the risk of HPV-linked cancer, regardless of tobacco or alcohol use.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University who studied 300 adults found that having six or more oral-sex partners during their lifetime had a nearly nine-fold increased risk of developing cancer of the tonsils or at the base of the tongue.
In Study author and cancer virus expert Maura Gillison’s study of 100 men and women newly diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer (located in the tonsils, back of the tongue, and throat), those who had evidence of prior HPV infection were 32 times more likely to develop the cancer. This was much higher than the rate increase of three-fold for smokers and two-fold for drinkers.
Study participants who reported having more than six oral sex partners in their lifetime were 8.6 times more likely to develop the HPV-linked cancer. In a surprising twist, Gillison says their data show no added risk for HPV carriers who smoke and drink alcohol.
"It's the virus that drives the cancer," explains Gillison, an assistant professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins. "Since HPV has already disrupted the cell enough to steer its change to cancer, then tobacco and alcohol use may have no further impact."
Dr Julie Sharp, science information officer at Cancer Research UK, however has disagreed with some of the findings.
"There is conflicting evidence about the role of HPV, and this rare type of throat cancer. As this was a small study, further research is needed to confirm these observations. We know that after age, the main causes of mouth cancer are smoking or chewing tobacco or betel nut, and drinking too much alcohol."
Gillison added that "people should be reassured that oropharyngeal cancer is relatively uncommon, and the overwhelming majority of people with an oral HPV infection probably will not get throat cancer."
Consistent condom use may reduce risk.
Oral sex, including both fellatio and cunnilingus, is the main mode of transit for oral HPV infection, the investigators say, although mouth-to-mouth transmission remains possible and was not ruled out by the current study.
According to News-medical.net, HPVs also can be transmitted by skin contact and are found in the mucus of the genital tract, and in saliva, urine, and semen. Both men and women contract the ubiquitous virus in equal numbers, which is believed to have infected a large proportion of people worldwide at some point in their lives. Most HPV infections clear with little or no symptoms, but a small percentage of men and women who acquire cancer-causing or "high-risk" strains, such as HPV 16, may develop a cancer. HPV-linked cancers currently include oral, anal, cervical, vaginal, penile, and vulvar cancers.
Gayhealth.com, a resource web site for the lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual communities, noted that “the throat cancer study did not explore whether Gardasil, the Merck & Co. HPV vaccine approved by U.S. regulators in June, would be protective against oral infections.”
The findings are expected to spur new debate over whether it should be more widely prescribed to boys and men since oral HPV infection occurs in both men and women who engaged in this type of sex. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, currently recommends for girls and women between 11 to 26 to be vaccinated against the cervical cancer causing virus.
[www]
à l'Entrepôt ( PARIS 14e) du 16 au 21 Mars 2007
Le Festival de cinéma Queer est un temps fort de réflexion sur les identités.
Héritier du féminisme, et des cultures gays, lesbiennes et trans, la théorie et le mouvement politique Queer déconstruisent les genres et les sexualités. A l’instar de Jean Genet qui appelait à une reformulation, par les dominés eux-mêmes, individuellement et collectivement, de leur subjectivité, le cinéma Queer, reflet de nouvelles formes de relations, d’être au monde, de propositions artistiques, est venu aujourd’hui bouleverser les modes de production et les formes mêmes d’un art cinématographique.
La seconde édition de notre festival se déroulera du 16 au 21 mars 2007, au cinéma l’Entrepôt, Paris 14ème. Nous dessinerons durant ces six jours quelques axes de ce fertile mouvement : croisement des problématiques sexuelles et raciales, black feminism, politiques transgenres, incarnations cyborg et freaks, devenirs, réflexion sur le corps, etc., au travers de plus de 40 films, souvent inédits en France, aux croisées du cinéma militant, de l’art contemporain et du cinéma expérimental. Nous inviterons à réfléchir, en présence de ciné/vidéastes, d’activistes et d’universitaires, autant aux politiques queer, féministes et postcoloniales, qu’à la production d’images individuelles et collectives, au rôle de l’art dans l’espace public et/ou comme espace symbolique, dans sa capacité même à transformer le réel, nos subjectivités et notre imaginaire.
Nous laisserons cette année une place importante au cinéma féministe et tenterons d’en tracer les points de convergences avec la pensée queer.
Plusieurs rendez-vous sont incontournables durant le festival, dont notamment :
*
L’ouverture du festival autour de l’œuvre de l’artiste performer Leigh Bowery, figure culte des années 80 et de la fureur de la culture underground. Le vertigineux parcours d’un créateur de costumes hallucinants qui redessinaient de nouveaux corps défiant toutes les normes.
*
La journée entière consacrée à la rencontre entre « mouvement Queer et post-colonialisme », avec notamment Black Nations / Queer Nations de Shari Frilot, projeté pour la première fois depuis 12 ans en France, et Mama no me lo dijo des Mujeres Creando, le célèbre groupe féministe radical bolivien, qui, à partir de performances et de poèmes insolents, se réapproprie l’espace public pour mieux le transformer.
*
L’incroyable «Dandy Dust» de Hans Scheirl, programmé en cloture du festival, film-culte à la croisée du cinéma expérimental et de la science-fiction, qui, par une prolifération de greffes, de fluides, d’êtres mutants aux frontières mentales et corporelles complètement éclatées, rend compte de ce que pourrait être un imaginaire queer dans sa forme la plus débridée, tenant à la fois du cyborg et de la post-identité.
De nombreuses surprises à venir découvrir sur place, les vidéos de Oreet Ashery, du photographe Del LaGrace Volcano, du GAT, des Panthères Roses de Montréal ou du performer sud-africain Steven Cohen, un film inédit de Judith Cahen, interview étonnante de Catherine Millet autour du performer Alberto Sorbelli, le très beau Quartier Mozart du réalisateur camerounais Jean-Pierre Bekolo, un documentaire inédit autour de la philosophe queer Beatriz Preciado, un opéra-porno-social de Jean-Louis Costes, des films de cinéastes féministes pionnières telles que Ulrike Ottinger, Maria Klonaris & Katerina Thomadaki, Nil Yalter ou Barbara Hammer, un grand film féministe collectiviste de Yann Le Masson ou encore le classique et immanquable Venus Boyz de Gabriel Baur !
des sites :
http://www.gayhiphop.com/
http://queerhiphopheads.tribe.net/
http://www.io.com/~larrybob/hiphop.html
une playlist sur YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1A57C4962A56C29B
bon c est sur faut faire un petit effort en anglais pour comprendre, je sais que c est pas trop dans le style des français mais ça vaut quand meme la peine.
