Unveiling the Trauma: Discovering Pedophilia in The Kite Runner

Authors

  • Aanchal Arora Chandigarh University, India
  • Manju Rani Chandigarh University, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jump.v8i1.6544

Keywords:

The Kite Runner, Bacha Bazi, PTSD, mental health and dancing boys.

Abstract

The sexual exploitation of adolescents has recently gained international attention and is a major problem in many countries. Afghanistan, a South Asian nation, is one of these countries with a startlingly high rate of sexual exploitation incidents; among these, the practice known as Bacha Bazi has attracted criticism from all sides. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini exposes the terrible Afghan culture of Bacha Bazi, which damages the social and sexual identities of many Afghan boys and has a negative impact on their mental well-being as a result of traumatic events that cause them to exhibit PTSD symptoms. This paper explores the issue of child sexual exploitation in general, as well as the arrival of Bacha Bazi in Afghanistan and its effects on children's mental health in particular, as depicted in The Kite Runner.

Author Biographies

  • Aanchal Arora, Chandigarh University, India

    AANCHAL ARORA, is a Research Scholar University Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities, Chandigarh University, India.  Her major research interests lie in the area of Asian Literature.  Email: arora.aanchal10@gmail.com.

  • Manju Rani, Chandigarh University, India

    MANJU RANI, PhD, is a Professor at University Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities, Chandigarh University, India.  Her major research interests lie in the area of Indian Literature. Email: manju.uila@cumail.in.

References

“Just Don’t Call It a Militia”: Impunity, Militias, and the “Afghan Local Police.” (2011, September 12). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/09/12/just-dont-call-it-militia/impunity-militias-and-afghan-local-police

Abawi, A. (2009, October 27). Ignored by society, Afghan dancing boys suffer centuries-old tradition [Review of Ignored by society, Afghan dancing boys suffer centuries-old tradition]. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/26/ctw.afghanistan.sex.trade/index.html

Afghanistan Country Profile | Document | Afghanistan. (2022, December 19). U.S. Agency for International Development. https://www.usaid.gov/afghanistan/document/afghanistan-country-profile

Bush, K. D., & Saltarelli, D. (2001). The two faces of education in ethnic conflict : towards a peacebuilding education for children. Unicef.

Cook, J. L. (2012). Afghanistan: the Perfect Failure. Xlibris Corporation.

Johnson, M. (2010). Reintegration and Reconciliation in Afghanistan. Time to End the Conflict. Military Review, 90(6), 97.

Jones, S. V. (2015). Ending Bacha Bazi: Boy Sex Slavery and the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine. Indiana International & Comparative Law Review, 25(1), 63. https://doi.org/10.18060/7909.0005

Londono, E. (2012, April 12). Afghanistan sees rise in “dancing boys” exploitation [Review of Afghanistan sees rise in “dancing boys” exploitation]. Rawa News. http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2012/04/05/afghanistan-sees-rise-in-dancing-boys-exploitation.html

Trafficking in Persons Report 2014. (n.d.). 2009-2017.State.gov. https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2014/index.htm

Tremblay, S. (2017). Home - United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict | To promote and protect the rights of all children affected by armed conflict. United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict | to Promote and Protect the Rights of All Children Affected by Armed Conflict. https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/

U.S. Department of State. (2021). 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report. United States Department of State. https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/

AFGHANISTAN: An in-depth look at the practice of “bacha bazi” (dancing boys). (2013, September 23). Archive.crin.org. https://archive.crin.org/en/library/news-archive/afghanistan-depth-look-practice-bacha-bazi-dancing-boys.html

Afghanistan: Don’t Prosecute Sexually Assaulted Children | Human Rights Watch. (2013, February 9). https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/09/afghanistan-dont-prosecute-sexually-assaulted-children

AIHRC Turns Toward Stemming Bacha Bazi. (n.d.). TOLOnews. Retrieved January 4, 2024, from https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/aihrc-turns-toward-stemming-bacha-bazi

Appropriate Legal Responses to Combating Trafficking in Persons in Afghanistan Manual for parliaMentarians of afghanistan. (n.d.). https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Legal_Responses_to_Trafficking_in_Persons_Manual_for_Parliamentarians_of_Afghanistan.pdf

Cockburn, P. (2009, November 13). Stealing Money, Selling Heroin and Raping Boys -- The Very Dark Side of the Afghan Occupation [Review of Stealing Money, Selling Heroin and Raping Boys -- The Very Dark Side of the Afghan Occupation]. https://www.alternet.org/2009/11/stealing_money_selling_heroin_and_raping_boys_--_the_very_dark_side_of_the_afghan_occupation

General Assembly resolution A/RES/54/263. (2000, May 25). Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/optional-protocol-convention-rights-child-involvement-children

Gohir, Shaista. (2010). The Hypocrisy of Child Abuse in Many Muslim Countries. https://www.theguardian.- com/commentisfree/2010/apr/25/middle-east-child-abuse-pederasty

Herman, J. (1997). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books.

Hosseini, K. (2013). The Kite Runner. Riverhead Books. (Original work published 2003)

Mondloch, Chris. (2013). The South Asian Channel. Bacha Bazi: An Afghan Tragedy. Retrieved from http:// www.foreignpolicy.com/2013/10/28/bacha-bazi-an-afghan-tragedy/

Samuel Vincent Jones. (2014). The Ethics of Letting Civilians Die in Afghanistan: The False Dichotomy between Hobbesian and Kantian Rescue Paradigms. Depaul Law Review, 59(3), 899.

Simone Borile. (2019). Bacha Bazi: cultural norms and violence against poor children in Afghanistan

Statement by Chairman of Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict | UN Press. (n.d.). Press.un.org. Retrieved January 4, 2024, from https://press.un.org/en/2010/sc10090.doc.htm

Thorson, Jane E. (2013). Forgotten No More: Male Child Trafficking in Afghanistan. US Department of State.

United Nations. (1989, November 20). Convention on the Rights of the Child. OHCHR; United Nations. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child

Veit, Raphel. (2002). Afghanistan: War on Terror / War in Error? Australian Quarterly. 74(4), pp. 7-11.

Verma, S. (2019). Why the issue of Bacha Bazi deserves international attention. Novum Jus, 13(2), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.14718/novumjus.2019.13.2.

Werban, M., Ferrante, B., & Ahad, G. (2009, September 18). Dancing boys of Afghanistan [Review of Dancing boys of Afghanistan]. The World. https://theworld.org/stories/2009-09-18/dancing-boys-afghanistan

Yerman, M. (2012, February 15). The Dancing Boys Of Afghanistan” — Examining Sexual Abuse [Review of The Dancing Boys Of Afghanistan” — Examining Sexual Abuse]. Daily Kos. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/02/15/1064923/--The-Dancing-Boys-Of-Afghanistan-Examining-Sexual-Abuse;

Downloads

Published

2024-04-30

How to Cite

Unveiling the Trauma: Discovering Pedophilia in The Kite Runner. (2024). Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.32674/jump.v8i1.6544