‘It will end when I die’: Mustafa was 14 when he was first raped by a group of men. Now, 80 assaults later, he reveals how dancing boys are being dressed as girls and brutalised by sick Taliban officials – and why it’s getting worse
The article reports allegations that bacha bazi, the sexual exploitation of boys made to dance for adult men, remains widespread in Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s official ban. It centres on Mustafa, who says he was first raped at 14 and has suffered around 80 assaults, arguing that the abuse persists in secrecy and may be worsening under Taliban rule.
The report says a 2023 US State Department assessment identified a pattern of sexual slavery involving the Taliban and an increase in bacha bazi incidents, while Taliban authorities reported no trafficking investigations, prosecutions or convictions in 2024. It also cites earlier Afghan data, including 237 cases referred for prosecution in 2020 and a survey in which 89% of admitted perpetrators said they had never faced court action, highlighting entrenched impunity and the difficulty of documenting abuse.
- Survivor alleges repeated abuse linked to bacha bazi.
- Reports dispute Taliban claims that the practice has ended.
- Lack of prosecutions leaves the scale of abuse unclear.
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Bacha bazi is a form of sexual exploitation in Afghanistan in which boys are made to dance for adult men and can then be abused. The practice has existed for many years and is illegal under Afghan law, but victims and rights groups say it has often been hidden and rarely punished.
The Taliban are Afghanistan’s current rulers, having returned to power in 2021 after the withdrawal of US-led forces. They officially ban bacha bazi, but reports from international bodies and survivors have alleged that some Taliban members are involved and that few cases are investigated.
The issue is difficult to measure because victims may fear retaliation, stigma or further violence if they report abuse. It also raises wider questions about whether Afghan authorities can protect children and hold powerful people accountable.
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The case for
Those alleging that bacha bazi remains widespread argue that survivor testimony, historical evidence of impunity and reported failures to investigate trafficking make an official ban meaningless without independent enforcement. They contend that secrecy, fear of retaliation and the involvement of powerful officials make reliable documentation especially difficult, so low official case numbers cannot be treated as proof that abuse has declined. Their central concern is that protecting children requires credible investigations, accountability and safe routes for victims to seek help.
The case against
Taliban authorities and their defenders could argue that the formal prohibition establishes an unequivocal legal and religious position against sexual exploitation, and that allegations against individual officials should be investigated rather than treated as proof of an institutional policy. They may also caution that conflict, restricted access and weak record-keeping make claims about whether abuse is worsening difficult to verify conclusively. From this perspective, fair assessment requires distinguishing substantiated wrongdoing from broader assertions while insisting that any confirmed abuse is prosecuted.