Bacha Bazi

Bacha bāzī (Persian: بچه بازی‎‎, literally "boy play"; from بچه bacha, "child", and بازی bāzī, "game") is a slang term in Afghanistan for a wide variety of activities involving sexual relations between older men and younger adolescent men, or boys, that sometimes includes child sexual abuse or pederasty. The practitioner is commonly called bacha Baz (meaning "pedophile" in Persian). It may include to some extent child pornography, sexual slavery, and child prostitution in which prepubescent boys are sold to wealthy or powerful men for entertainment and sexual activities. Bacha bazi has existed throughout history, and is currently reported in various parts of Afghanistan. Force and coercion are common, and security officials state they are unable to end such practices because many of the men involved in bacha bazi-related activities are powerful and well-armed warlords, including former commanders of the Northern Alliance militia.

During the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban's rule) (1994-2001), bacha bazi officially carried the death penalty. The practice of dancing boys is illegal under Afghan law, being "against both sharia law and the civil code", but the laws are seldom enforced against powerful offenders and police have reportedly been complicit in related crimes.

A controversy arose after allegations surfaced that US government forces in Afghanistan after the Invasion of Afghanistan deliberately ignored bacha bazi. The US military justified this by claiming the abuse was largely the responsibility of the “local Afghan government.”

...
Wikipedia