Modern Slavery In Afghanistan
Modern slavery, also known as human trafficking, is present and prevalent in today’s world. As stated by the International Labour Organization, upwards of 20 million individuals are in forced labor around the world, and globally, $150 billion is generated each year. A report from the United Nations states that women and children make up 70% of all trafficking victims. Traffickers are also proceeding to adapt to changing times, for they have started taking advantage of high-speed Internet access to more efficiently continue exploiting victims for monetary gain(Flores-Oebanda). There are so many victims and so few traffickers convicted for their crimes. Although human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that infects even the greatest
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The Taliban’s oppressive rule around the late 1990s caused the practice of bacha bazi to be moved underground. However, the fall of the Taliban government in 2001 revitalized the practice in Afghanistan, and according to Afghans who have studied bacha bazi or have even taken part in it, bacha bazi has continued to expand over the past decade. Bacha bazi also remains a poorly understood issue in Afghanistan because there are no sound statistics to express the full extent of the practice. In fact, Afghan government officials, law enforcement, and judicial officials have a limited understanding of human trafficking in general. Although bacha bazi is illegal in Afghanistan, it is a rather open practice because it can be an expression of a man’s social status if he owns a “boy to play”. Authorities are very aware of the practice, and there are even reports with possible evidence that various government officials partake in bacha bazi(Londono, “Refworld”). A lack of government enforcement is bringing about a culture where wealthy and powerful men completely disregard the law because they know they will not face consequences for their actions. Authorities knowingly turn a blind eye and fail to hold criminals accountable in part because some officials participate in what they are supposed to be eliminating. It does not matter what the Afghan government does or does not do to hold criminals accountable because
The Taliban’s oppressive rule around the late 1990s caused the practice of bacha bazi to be moved underground. However, the fall of the Taliban government in 2001 revitalized the practice in Afghanistan, and according to Afghans who have studied bacha bazi or have even taken part in it, bacha bazi has continued to expand over the past decade. Bacha bazi also remains a poorly understood issue in Afghanistan because there are no sound statistics to express the full extent of the practice. In fact, Afghan government officials, law enforcement, and judicial officials have a limited understanding of human trafficking in general. Although bacha bazi is illegal in Afghanistan, it is a rather open practice because it can be an expression of a man’s social status if he owns a “boy to play”. Authorities are very aware of the practice, and there are even reports with possible evidence that various government officials partake in bacha bazi(Londono, “Refworld”). A lack of government enforcement is bringing about a culture where wealthy and powerful men completely disregard the law because they know they will not face consequences for their actions. Authorities knowingly turn a blind eye and fail to hold criminals accountable in part because some officials participate in what they are supposed to be eliminating. It does not matter what the Afghan government does or does not do to hold criminals accountable because