ArtAsiaPacific: Barat Ali Batoor Dancing Boys Of Afghanistan

The Afghan Photography Network (APN) is an online resource for Afghan photography, as I have recently discovered, that contains a wealth of talents and serves as a valuable portal into this war-torn country, wracked by foreign invasions and religious strife. It is noteworthy that photography was first banned in 1996 when the Taliban came to power, then restrictions were subsequently eased upon their overthrow in 2001. While APN undertakes promotional activities to improve business and network opportunities for established Afghan photographers, it is also working to identify and develop new talent through workshops and educational programs. Barat Ali Batoor’s document “The Dancing Boys” serves as a sobering visual depiction of the many contemporary social issues facing Afghanistan today. Ali Batoor wrote: “Bacha Baazi is the name of a cultural tradition of young boys, dressed as women, dancing for men as entertainment. The dancing boys are called Bacha Bereesh (Boys without Beards). A young boy will live in the keep of a powerful man, and he will dress as a woman and dance for parties of men. Many times he will also become the man’s ‘wife’.”

Many years of war have caused a breakdown in Afghan society and allowed an abuse of power by those in control. The tradition of Bacha Baazi has become increasingly more common and many young boys are kidnapped and abducted into the practice. Homeless children and orphans are especially vulnerable.

To see more images by Ali Batoor, please visit here.

BALIT ALI BATOOR chronicles a performance. Shukur, 21 years old, was kidnapped in Kabul when he was 12 years old and taken to Kunduz where he was kept as a Bacha Bereesh. After five years he escaped and returned to Kabul where he now earns a living working as a dancer. Copyright the artist.

A young boy poses for a photo in a video game shop in Kabul. Copyright the artist.

Fridoon, 13 years old, is from Logar province. He was a small child when his mother died and his father remarried. His abusive stepmother soon kicked him out of the house and he was forced to live on the streets where he became addicted to sniffing glue. One day he met a man who started taking him to parties and he was kept as a Bacha Bereesh. After two years he escaped. He is now homeless in Kabul and addicted to heroin. Copyright the artist.

Shukur smokes cigarette before going to the dance floor. Copyright the artist.

Copyright the artist.

Shukur (center) looks in a small handy mirror to make his look while with his friends in a tea shop in Kabul. Copyright the artist.

Fridoon smokes heroin in a toilet of a tea shop in Kabul. Copyright the artist.

Shukur dances in a party in Kabul and a man from the crowd has also joined him on the dance floor. Copyright the artist.