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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (69)	11/27/2002 6:00:11 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 15987

This is not going to go over well with the Falwell crowd (nor with me). Is this one reason the Pashtuns have been denied equal access to government power?: A GAY OLD AFGHAN TIME AGAIN KANDAHAR is coming out of the closet now that the historically gay city in southern Afghanistan has been liberated from Taliban rule. The Osama bin Laden-allied regime banned homosexuality along with other no-nos like televisions, razors and kites when it took over the country in 1994. But now that the Taliban has been sent packing, men are once again appearing in public with their ashna, or beloveds - young boys they have cultivated for sex. Times of London correspondent Tim Reid reports that Kandahar's Pashtuns have been known for practicing homosexuality - and particularly with young boys - for centuries. Before the Taliban took over, Reid reports, "the streets were filled with teenagers and their sugar daddies, flaunting their relationship." Such is the Pashtun obsession for young men, reports Reid, that "locals tell you that birds fly over the city using only one wing, the other covering their posterior." Reid reports that the rape of young males by local warlords was a key factor in Mullah Omar mobilizing the Taliban. In the summer of 1994, a few months before the Taliban took control of the city, two warlords confronted each other over a boy. In the ensuing battle, civilians were killed. Omar's group freed the youth and was soon swamped for help in settling disputes. By November 1994, Omar and his Taliban were Kandahar's new rulers. Despite the regime's hatred of women and penchant for eyeliner, homosexuality was banned. Men accused of being gay were executed by having a wall toppled on them. In recent weeks, reports Reid, there are signs the ashna are returning. A common sight is that of a heavily-bearded man, seated next to, or walking with, a clean-shaven, fresh-faced boy. The tradition is even reflected in Pashtun poetry, odes written to the beauty and complexion of an ashna. It is practiced 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," one shop owner explained to Reid. "Sometimes they go looking in the football stadium, or in the cinema. "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 . . . 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." sodomylaws.org