[etrevino]

Disgustingly, it is a longstanding cultural thing in Afghanistan.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dancingboys/

Don't let the modernity of 1960s Kabul fool you. I have a teenage student sold into sex slavery in the US. The weak (or in her case, homeless and orphaned) are targeted no matter what the culture. For more moral turpitude, check out Rotherham.

* I work with folks from the US's Office on Trafficking in Persons. It's one of the few programs run by the Department of Health and Human Services that has broad bipartisan support.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/endtrafficking

[sigma2015]

Are you aware of the political and societal implications and surroundings of f.x. the cases around Jimmy Savile or Marc Dutroux?

Maybe you should watch some documentaries about that to realize that this is by the same token part of any "culture".

[etrevino]

Why the hostility? You said that you didn't think this was a longstanding part of Afghani culture and I brought up a documentary that was linked in the article you posted saying that, in fact, pederasty was a longstanding part of Afghani culture. There are plenty of people in Afghanistan who oppose it, but that doesn't mean it's not an accepted part of the culture.

As for "culture", we may be better describing this as a societal failure in the case of Rotherham. Note, I mentioned Rotherham, not Jimmy Savile. The sexual exploitation in Rotherham was disgusting and was allowed to happen for years. It was a failure on the part of the predators (obviously) and a failure on the part of the local governmental structure who largely knew about it.

In the Americas we have cases like my student's. Human trafficking is a big big thing and that it goes on isn't because of isolated individuals but because of large organizations of procurers, pimps, money launderers, etc., who are able to work because so many folks choose to turn a blind eye to it.

Let's be clear, here, I'm not saying that human trafficking or pederasty has widespread acceptance in the West. I am saying that there are cultural (or subcultural, whatever) groups for whom it is acceptable.

Modernity ≠ moral