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Kandahar comes out of the closet
The Times (U.K.) ^ | 01/12/2002 | TIM REID

Posted on 01/11/2002 3:41:19 PM PST by Pokey78

Our correspondent sees the gay capital of South Asia throw off strictures of the Taleban

NOW that Taleban rule is over in Mullah Omar’s former southern stronghold, it is not only televisions, kites and razors which have begun to emerge.

Visible again, too, are men with their ashna, or beloveds: young boys they have groomed for sex.

Kandahar’s Pashtuns have been notorious for their homosexuality for centuries, particularly their fondness for naive young boys. Before the Taleban arrived in 1994, the streets were filled with teenagers and their sugar daddies, flaunting their relationship.

It is called the homosexual capital of south Asia. Such is the Pashtun obsession with sodomy — locals tell you that birds fly over the city using only one wing, the other covering their posterior — that the rape of young boys by warlords was one of the key factors in Mullah Omar mobilising the Taleban.

In the summer of 1994, a few months before the Taleban took control of the city, two commanders confronted each other over a young boy whom they both wanted to sodomise.

In the ensuing fight civilians were killed. Omar’s group freed the boy and appeals began flooding in for Omar to help in other disputes.

By November, Omar and his Taleban were Kandahar’s new rulers. Despite the Taleban disdain for women, and the bizarre penchant of many for eyeliner, Omar immediately suppressed homosexuality.

Men accused of sodomy faced the punishment of having a wall toppled on to them, usually resulting in death. In February 1998 three men sentenced to death for sodomy in Kandahar were taken to the base of a huge mud and brick wall, which was pushed over by tank. Two of them died, but one managed to survive.

“In the days of the Mujahidin, there were men with their ashna everywhere, at every corner, in shops, on the streets, in hotels: it was completely open, a part of life,” said Torjan, 38, one of the soldiers loyal to Kandahar’s new governor, Gul Agha Sherzai.

“But in the later Mujahidin years, more and more soldiers would take boys by force, and keep them for as long as they wished. But when the Taleban came, they were very strict about the ban. Of course, it still happened — the Taleban could not enter every house — but one could not see it.”

But for the first time since the Taleban fled, in the past three days, one can see the pairs returning: usually a heavily bearded man, seated next to, or walking with, a clean-shaven, fresh faced youth. There appears to be no shame or furtiveness about them, although when approached, they refuse to talk to a western journalist.

“They are just emerging again,” Torjan said. “The fighters too now have the boys in their barracks. This was brought to the attention of Gul Agha, who ordered the boys to be expelled, but it continues. The boys live with the fighters very openly. In a short time, and certainly within a year, it will be like pre-Taleban: they will be everywhere.”

This Pashtun tradition is even reflected in Pashtun poetry, odes written to the beauty and complexion of an ashna, but it is usually a terrible fate for the boys concerned. It is practised at all levels of Pashtun society, but for the poorer men, having an ashna can raise his status.

“When a man sees a boy he likes — the age they like is 15 or 16 — they will approach him in the street and start talking to him, offering him tea,” said Muhammad Shah, a shop owner. “Sometimes they go looking in the football stadium, or in the cinema (which has yet to reopen).

“He then starts to give him presents, hashish, or a watch, a ring, or even a motorbike. One of the most valued presents is a fighting pigeon, which can be worth up to $400 (£277). These boys are nearly always innocent, but such is the poverty here, they cannot refuse.”

Once the boy falls into the man’s clutches — nearly always men with a wife and family — he is marked for life, although the Kandaharis accept these relationships as part of their culture.

When driven around, ashna sit in the front passenger seat. The back seat is simply for his friends. Even the parents of the boys know in their hearts the nature of the relationship, but will tell people that their son is working for the man. They, like everyone else, will know this is a lie. “They say birds flew with both wings with the Taleban,” Muhammad said. “But not any more.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events
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1 posted on 01/11/2002 3:41:20 PM PST by Pokey78
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To: Pokey78
Buggery in the streets?

MAJOR PUKE FACTOR!

You should have posted a barf alert.

2 posted on 01/11/2002 3:43:37 PM PST by LibKill
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To: Pokey78
Looks like NAMBLA will be building resorts there.
3 posted on 01/11/2002 3:46:55 PM PST by BrooklynGOP
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To: Pokey78
OH brother, this thread ought to be good for at least five hundred comments and replies.
4 posted on 01/11/2002 3:51:50 PM PST by Zorobabel
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To: ipaq2000, lent, veronica, sabramerican, beowolf, nachum, benf, monkeyshine,angelo, boston_liberty
WOW!
5 posted on 01/11/2002 3:55:05 PM PST by dennisw
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To: wooly_mammoth
This one should be right up your alley.
6 posted on 01/11/2002 3:57:13 PM PST by dennisw
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To: Pokey78
I'm sure GLAAD's wetting their pants over this development.
7 posted on 01/11/2002 4:01:05 PM PST by 3catsanadog
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To: Pokey78
In February 1998 three men sentenced to death for sodomy in Kandahar were taken to the base of a huge mud and brick wall, which was pushed over by tank.

Perhaps this is the type of sentence Taliban John Walker wished upon his dad. Ironically, now his dad may want to emigrate to Kandahar.

I sure hope our bombing really was about the oil pipeline. We wouldn't want this to be the true legacy of our victory.

8 posted on 01/11/2002 4:01:55 PM PST by longleaf
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To: longleaf
It WAS about the oil pipeline. This was simply an added bonus.
9 posted on 01/11/2002 4:09:17 PM PST by Pay now bill Clinton
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Comment #10 Removed by Moderator

To: boston_liberty
I don't like it either.
11 posted on 01/11/2002 4:17:37 PM PST by dennisw
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Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: BrooklynGOP
NAMBLA: Afganistan sounds like heaven for those queers.

No wonder Afganistan is still in the stone age.

13 posted on 01/11/2002 4:24:46 PM PST by oldtimer
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To: Pokey78
Ugh. We need to finish up what we went there to do, and then get the hell out. Islam is evil.
14 posted on 01/11/2002 4:26:32 PM PST by LibWhacker
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To: Pokey78
The Taliban originally came to power because the local warlords were fighting over which young boys they could have for themselves.
15 posted on 01/11/2002 4:28:02 PM PST by Pay now bill Clinton
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To: boston_liberty
Too bad. Americans need to be aware of ALL the consequences of our foreign policy. Another victory for the New World Order.
16 posted on 01/11/2002 4:31:52 PM PST by Pay now bill Clinton
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To: dennisw
You know, there are some things I'm really happier not knowing about, and I think this is one of those....
17 posted on 01/11/2002 4:37:35 PM PST by backhoe
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To: dennisw
Look at the bright side. One less reason for gays to hate W and the GOP.
18 posted on 01/11/2002 4:38:40 PM PST by NativeNewYorker
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To: LibWhacker
Welcome to Pashtunistan!

Give a Bible to an Afghan today.

www.AfghanBibles.com

19 posted on 01/11/2002 4:41:49 PM PST by JeepInMazar
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To: Pokey78;dennisw
I heard such stories also from an Iranian. He fled the country after being jailed for years for his membership of a opposition political party.
20 posted on 01/11/2002 4:55:48 PM PST by knighthawk
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