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Afghanistan is set to lay out stringent penalties for bacha bazi sexual slavery and abuse of boys for the first time, officials say, in a landmark move against the deeply entrenched practice.

AFP revealed last year how the Taliban were exploiting rampant bacha bazi in police ranks to mount deadly insider attacks, exposing a hidden epidemic of kidnapping of young boys for institutionalised sexual slavery.

The revelations intensified longstanding demands by campaigners for Kabul to enact an incisive legal provision to curb bacha bazi literally boy play which has seen a striking resurgence in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

A raft of punishments will now be listed in Afghanistans revised penal code from up to seven years in jail for sexual assault to capital punishment for aggravated cases such as violating more than one boy.

There is an entire chapter on criminalising the practice (bacha bazi) in the new penal code, Nader Nadery, a senior advisor to President Ashraf Ghani, told AFP.

The code is expected to be adopted any time this month. This is going to be a significant step towards stopping this ugly practice.

Graphic showing documented cases of sexual slavery kidnappings in Afghanistan. (AFP)

A draft of the chapter seen by AFP, titled Driving children towards moral corruption, states that bacha bazi victims cannot be prosecuted, a significant caveat in a nation where sex assault victims often face punishment.

Afghanistans criminal law previously only prohibited pederasty and sex outside of marriage, which rights campaigners said did not sufficiently address the problem of bacha bazi.

This chapter clearly defines bacha bazi as a crime, leaving no room for ambiguity, Ghanis legal advisor Nasrullah Stanekzai told AFP, waving printed copies of the revised penal code in his hand.

Aside from police commanders, warlords, politicians and other members of the Afghan elite often keep bachas as a symbol of authority and affluence.

The young boys, sometimes dressed effeminately with makeup and bells on their feet, can be used as dancers at private parties and are often sexually exploited.

AFPs investigation found the Taliban were using the boys keen on revenge and easy prey for recruitment to infiltrate security ranks and mount crippling insider attacks on police in southern Afghanistan. The insurgents deny the claim.

21st century slaves

Before the penal code, activists pushed for years for special legislation on bacha bazi, with scant hope of getting it through parliament as they suspect the practice is prevalent among lawmakers themselves.

I have received calls from MPs that say they will never let a bacha bazi law pass in parliament, said Soraya Sobhrang from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. This is a battle to save 21st century slaves.

The penal code is likely to be passed by presidential decree during the ongoing parliamentary recess. But Sobhrang worries some lawmakers may try to water it down when it is later subjected to a parliamentary review.

Afghanistan has a poor record of enforcing similar provisions, including a law to eliminate violence against women and another to ban the recruitment of child soldiers, especially when the perpetrators are powerful.

Explicit criminalisation in law of the heinous practice of bacha bazi is commendable, but implementation of laws in Afghanistan has been questionable, the All Survivors Project, a global fact-finding effort into sexual violence against males in conflict zones, told AFP.

How is the government planning to monitor, investigate and hold accountable those responsible for abusing boys under this new legal provision?

Graphic locating documented cases of sexual slavery kidnappings in Afghanistan. (AFP)

As Afghanistans conflict escalates, critics have said there appears to be no will to act against abusive security officials who are seen as the lesser of two evils in the fight against insurgent groups.

Western officials have privately conceded to AFP that some Afghan commanders accused of bacha bazi are too strategic to be removed from their posts.

But growing public scrutiny of the practice, once shrouded in shame and silence, is forcing authorities to act in some areas.

Earlier this month, the government sacked Shah Mirza Panjsheri, police chief of the volatile Dasht-e-Archi district in northern Kunduz province, after a video of his bacha bazi party surfaced on social media.

He was kidnapping young, beautiful boys and forcing them to dance in bacha bazi gatherings, a Kunduz government spokesman told AFP.

When we heard about this we dismissed him immediately, he said, adding that he was the first high-ranking police official in Kunduz to be sacked for this practice.

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Afghanistan to set penalties for abuse of boy sex slaves - Hindustan Times

Afghanistan have crumbled in sensational fashion in the third one-day international against Zimbabwe, losing 5-5 in a stunning collapse to hand the hosts a three-run win in Harare.

The result means Zimbabwe keep their hopes in the five-match series alive, with the ledger now sitting 2-1 in Afghanistans favour.

Cruising at 5-121 and needing just nine runs from 23.3 overs to seal the series, Afghanistan fell in a heap as seamer Chris Mpofu (3-24) and left-arm spinner Sean Williams (3-15) ran riot.

Mpofu started the panic when he had Samiullah Shenwari (29) and Najibullah Zadran (first-ball duck) caught behind in successive balls.

Quick Single: Beauty of Pune pitch in eye of beholder

The 31-year-old quick struck again in his next over after Williams had chimed in with the scalp of Mohammad Nabi, before Mpofu took the final wicket to complete an unlikely victory.

Earlier, Tarisai Musakanda (60) and Malcolm Waller (36 not out) were two of only three Zimbabwe batsmen to reach double-figures as the home side were skittled for 129 in 32.4 overs.

Afghan seamer Gulbadin Naib (4-27) did best with the ball while Asghar Stanikzai top-scored for the tourists with 31.

The fourth ODI is on Friday and the final match on Sunday, both at the Harare Sports Club.

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Afghanistan lose 5-5 in nightmare collapse - cricket.com.au

Laura Cesaretti

Laura Cesaretti is an Italian freelance journalist based in Afghanistan. She has previously worked in Turkey and Lebanon, covering the Syrian humanita

Afghanistans Khorasan region is often associated with war and social conservatism, yet it has a rich history of religious tolerance and a passion for art.

Whether known to be the graveyard of empires or the land of lions, Afghanistan has always been perceived as the motherland of fearless, rural fighters. Yet the view of a mountainous, ruthless country does not give justice to the beauty of this historic land, regulated for centuries by codes and institutions that incorporated progressive thinking. Over 30years of war and an unstoppable campaign against local tribal customs have contributed to enforce this conventional wisdom, portraying Afghans as conservative extremists who oppose any form of modernization.

Not surprisingly, this stereotype is also used by the Islamic State (IS). The group first set foot on Afghan soil in 2014, and it announced the establishment of the so-called Province of Khorasan the following year. The people of Khurasan in general love Islam and warfare, Shaykh Hafidh Said Khan, the appointed wali of Khorasan, told the ISDabiqmagazine, and because of this, the region has a dormant force for supporting tawhid and jihad.

The use of the term Khorasan is not casual. Historically, it refers to a broader area that includes northern Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The actual boundaries, however, have been the subject of tales and narratives that extend them to include the southern-central provinces of Afghanistan.

A controversialhadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad), in particular, has later engraved the region with a deep symbolic meaning across many Islamist groups. It is said that an army will rise up from this region bearing a black banner, and it will lead Muslims to the final victory against the enemies of Islam. This has encouraged speculation, particularly referring to Afghanistan, spreading the belief that the Taliban or other groups like IS could be the prophesied army.

What many, including the Islamic State today, ignore is how the Afghan Islamic tradition is profoundly unrelated to this apocalyptic view. Throughout history, Afghan nationalist movements have been inspired by an Islam that did not fear to include elements of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism, for centuries making Afghanistan one of the most spiritual and tolerant religious crossways. Even nowadays, in the old city of Kabul you can find an old temple where people worship Baba Ratan, a Sufi saint for Muslims and a guru for Hindus and Sikhs, famous for having professed miracles across India and Afghanistan, including Jalalabad, Kabul, Peshawar and Khorasan.

The impact of his teachings and poems is still alive in todays Afghanistan, along with the spiritual footprint of other Sufi thinkers. Popular poetry, strictly related to religion and society, uses vocabulary of human rights and national pride, and Sufi scholars are believed to be the real architects of Afghan society.

This ascetic approach toward life is not relegated to the intellectual Afghan class. Afghan politicians recite lines of poetry in their speeches, and farmers use their birds as metaphors for life, recalling, perhaps, the lines that Iman Ghazali, the great 11th-century Sufi, wroteduring his last state of illness: A bird I am: This body was my cage/But I have flown leaving it as a token. Even conservative clerics often use poems in Friday prayers, and the most violent warlords prefer to have pictures of themselves taken with flowers rather than an AK47.

Many Muslims around the world do not agree with the way of Sufism, and this is saying a lot about Afghan people. Things have changed in the past years, but most of our people are still very moderate, compassionate and caring about each other. We are one of the few cultures which have to allow Sufism to grow, explains Mahmud Kaber Khalili, grandson of the great poet Khalilullaj Khalili and son of the political leader Masood Khalili. In his book,Afghanistan Decoded, Mahmud Khalili has dedicated an entire chapter to his familys historicalhujraa meditation room built in 1962 decorated only by poems.

Even during wartime, the hujra has been preserved with the highest respect by mujahedeen and Taliban alike. Poetry, in fact, has always been considered to have a powerful social role in Afghanistan, and people from different economic and social background pay the same level of respect to poets. Poetry festivals are held regularly in many provinces of the country, even the ones controlled by the Taliban, who have a long-standing poetic tradition.

Poetry of the Talibanbrings together over 200 poems about grief and battle, as well as love and mysticism. Contrary to music, banned under the Taliban as religious propaganda, poetry had little to do with political ideology, and more with local traditions that characterized the Afghan identity.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Information and Culture has repeatedly lamented this misinterpretation of Afghan culture, and how the international community has paid so little attention to this fundamental peculiarity of the Afghan life. We are the victim of terrorism, says the spokesperson of the ministry, Haroon Hakimi. It is unfortunate that birthplace of so many scholars who were spreading peace and love to the world has been affected by war, and known mainly for that.

Sufism, in fact, has been used as a counterterrorism strategy by the West, but not as a source of interpretation and understanding of a great civilization. Khorasans Sufi intellectuals and poets such as Rumi are popular in the West, but not well-known for their religious beliefs and spiritual interpretations.

Indeed, the Khorasan region is also homeof rigid interpretations of Islam, such as the Deobandi school, to which groups such as the Taliban belong. This interpretation is not much different from the Wahhabi teachings that inspired the Islamic State, and yet the space for political and social debate has always characterized this part of the region.

Baqi Hilaman Ghaznawi, a Sufi scholar and writer of many books in Dari and Pashto, explains: Taliban are not al-Qaeda or Daesh [Islamic State]. In the 1990s, when they arrived, they respected our spiritual traditions.

It is this spiritual narrative that characterizes the Khorasan region more than war and conservatism. The aesthetic passion for poetry and emotion of Afghans is something that can be felt in every aspect of their every day like. Yet neither the West nor the Islamic State are ready to recognize it.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observers editorial policy.

Photo Credit:farid_ep

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Afghanistan: The Stolen Tale of Khorasan - Fair Observer

When the two men slid through the finish line in the World Alpine Ski Championships at St. Moritz last week, they didnt have quite the same crowds that lined the racecourse at Corviglia, the slope where champions like Frances Tessa Worley and Switzerlands Beat Feuz would clinch gold. Coming in 73rd and 74th out of 75 finishers, they didnt qualify for the main event, the mens giant slalom at Corviglia, which takes just the 50 top finishers from the qualifiers.

But what they did was still a historic first.

The two menSajjad Husaini, 25, and Alishah Farhang, 26were the first skiers from Afghanistan ever to complete in the world championships. The hope is that this is just one step toward a national team for Afghanistan and the Olympics next year.

The story of how the two skiers came from Afghanistan to St. Moritzwhere they have spent the last three seasons traininginvolves, like the sport itself, both passion and teamwork.

We are not aiming for a gold medal or a victory for my country, says Farhang. We are trying to show a positive image of Afghanistan to the world. When people hear Afghanistan, they think war, violence, killing each other. I cannot ignore that. It is some of that. But its not as much as you hear in the media. And we can bring a positive change through sport.

Switzerlands Inferno: The Worlds Oldest and Longest Downhill Race.

Both Husaini and Farhang were living at Bamyan, at large town at 8,200 feet in the Hindu Kush of central Afghanistan. Winter there can last half a year, and the peak is snow-capped even in June. But neither of them had ever thought about skiing before.

I had no idea what this ski is. I didnt watch it on the TV, says Farhang. Although some locals from the area do make wooden skis by hand, he says, until a few years ago, he wouldnt have even understood what they were for. I didnt ski on these wooden skis. Never. Because I had no ideawhat are these skis?

And then, about six years ago, a Swiss reporter named Christoph Zrcher found himself stuck near Bamyan, trapped thanks to fighting on the roads.

You sit there and you look at those mountains, Zrcher says. As a Swiss, you can imagine it doesnt take too long before you think about skiing. Hey, guys, does anybody ski here? They said Ski, whats that? And then I said, Oh, what a shame. And decided to go back to Switzerland and organize 30 pairs of skis and ski boots to bring back.

Soon after first bringing equipment to Bamyan, Zrcher helped organize a ski club. Based in Zurich, the Bamyan Ski Club is a nonprofit thats introducing skiing to locals, as well as raising Bamyans profile as a ski resort for foreigners.

Getting locals to become interested in skiing wasnt quite as easy as Zrcher had expected. At first, they were wary of strapping the equipment to their feet and sliding downhill.

In the end we just dished out $10 bills, Zrcher says, laughing. But even then, it wasnt easy. Most would try for a day or two, thensurprised at just how tricky it wasgive it up.

So Zrcher and the others had an idea: Theyd run an Afghan Ski Challenge, a ski race taking place over a two-mile course. The winner would receive a Swiss watch. Every year, the number of participants in the contest grew a bit more. This year, there were around 80.

Two of the winnersFarhang and Husainigot more than a Swiss watch. They also have been given training with a professional coach for two months a year in St. Moritz, as well as food and lodging in the infamously pricy resort (courtesy of the town itself). And, of course, two slots in this weeks championships.

Even if they didnt win the race, both Farhang and Husaini have come a long way since their first days on skis. Both were inspired to take up the sport when they saw the ski clubs members on snow. But even though they wanted to try the sport, it wasnt always easy.

The first time Farhang tried skiing, he said, the guide he was with took him to a high, steep slope.

That was a very difficult experience. I was just rolling over into the snow, and I did not like it at all that day. The next day, I took a day off because I was so tired, he says. Then another day I said, OKIm going to try in a flatter part. Then it was more fun.

Coming to St. Moritz for the first time, meanwhile, was another hurdle. There was culture shock and being away from familybut even the mountain and the conditions were different.

Our mountain is higher. Even the Bamyan town is very high; it is 2,500 meters above the sea level, says Husaini. The snowhere it is more wet, Bamyan is more dry. At Bamyan, he goes on to explain, the snow is so light, you feel like youre floating. Here, he had to learn to carve.

On the other hand, infrastructure at St. Moritzthe worlds first winter resortaffords much better access. Bamyan doesnt have anything in the way of a rope tow; any skiing has to be earned the hard way.

Every day, sometimes three hours, sometimes four hours, we have to walk up, and then its 10 or 15 minutes of skiing down. You are a really good skier if its just one and a half minutes, Husaini says.

One thing, though, has remained the same whether theyre skiing in St. Moritz or Bamyan: the fun of it.

When I was a child, I would also do some sledding on the snow, Husaini says. But when I saw [the skiers at Bamyan] I thought, Oh, this is even more amazing than the sledding. And faster. And more joyful.

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The Great Afghanistan Hope - Powder Magazine

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IOWA FALLS, Iowa -- Starting in 2007, Zalmay Niazy began working as an interpreter for the United States Armed Forces in Afghanistan.

"It was a very good career that I had and I'm very proud that I helped the United States Armed Forces," said Niazy.

But putting his life on the line for America was something that did not sit well with the Taliban.

"The Taliban and the bad guys were always threatening me and my family and they were always giving us a hard time, and they kidnapped my uncle from the house and they killed him because I was an interpreter," said Niazy.

Niazy came to America in December of 2014, seeking political asylum. But despite his best efforts, he's run into a roadblock.

This is why Niazy brought his situation to Senator Charles Grassley's attention at a town hall meeting in Iowa Falls. At the meeting, Niazy said, "I came here, sir. I applied for political asylum. I hired a lawyer in Des Moines and...he's going through all the process and from the last two years and four months I haven't heard anything from the asylum process from there, and I always contact them. I always send them and they just give me a one year work permit and it expires."

Senator Grassley responded by saying to Niazy, who was standing right next to him, "You've hired a lawyer. I wish I knew you before you hired a lawyer. I could have saved you a lot of money, because usually your lawyer comes to us and we do the work for them," said Grassley.

Senator Grassley also said a new executive order, which President Trump is expected to issue soon, should make things easier for Niazy and for other people in similar situations.

"They were left out of the original order that President Trump put out because it wasn't carefully drafted, so it's my understanding on the drafting of this one that they're going to make sure that people like you (Niazy) can come to this country legally and...will be able to get in. That will be pretty clear," said Grassley.

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Interpreter for US Military in Afghanistan Seeks Asylum in Iowa - whotv.com