Topic
A custom in parts of Afghanistan in which powerful men keep boys for sexual use; it is forbidden in Islam and condemned by Muslim scholars.
What it means
The practice, known as bacha bazi (“boy play”), is a tribal custom of exploitation and abuse of boys by older men, which has persisted in some areas of Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is not an Islamic practice. The Quran condemns the acts of the people of Lot (7:80–84, 27:54–55), and Islamic law forbids sexual relations outside marriage.
What the sources say
The Taliban banned it in the 1990s and it persisted among warlords after their fall; the Afghan government has made it a crime. Muslim scholars condemn it as abuse and fornication.