A tradition of young boys

This has surfaced every now and then. A while back, soldiers discovered secret photographs of these "lovers" after the military emptied out a Taliban nest. In fact, this is what The Kite Runner is about. This is over at NR Online:

For centuries, Afghan men have taken boys, roughly 9 to 15 years old, as lovers. Some research suggests that half the Pashtun tribal members inKandahar and other southern towns are bacha baz, the term for an older man with a boy lover. Literally it means “boy player.” The men like to boast about it.

“Having a boy has become a custom for us,” Enayatullah, a 42-year-old in Baghlan province, told a Reuters reporter. “Whoever wants to show off should have a boy.”