Bacha Posh: The Gender Twisting Custom In Afghanistan

The damage that Patriarchy has been doing is not limited to one case or to one place either. It's everywhere and it's systematic. Ever thought how it would feel to have borrowed feelings? There are girls going through these feelings every second of their lives. The complicated, borrowed feelings which are not theirs and don't identify with who they really are. These are girls who practice Bacha Posh and this is how they live.

The Practice

Bacha Posh (or Bacha Poshi as some call it) is a social and cultural practice in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as per which families without sons pick a daughter who disguises and lives as a boy. In the local Dari language, the term "Bacha Posh" means a "girl dressed like a boy". Families reassign the daughter’s gender at birth in this practice. This enables the child to behave more freely, wherein one can attend school, escort her sisters in public, and work outside the homes. Also, it assists her in carrying out the duties of a son without getting harassed. The practice significantly allows the family to avoid the social stigma associated with not having any male children.

Also: Teenagers & Patriarchy: Tanaz Bhathena’s A Girl Like That

Social standing and acceptance

In Afghanistan’s patriarchal society, economic dependency on men and social stigma drives families to resort to Bacha Posh. There’s even a rumour which they live with, that a bacha posh daughter will lead to a son in the next pregnancy.

Najia Nasim, the Afghanistan country director for U.S.-based Women for Afghan Women says, “When one gender is so important and the other is unwanted, there will always be those who try to pass over to the other side.”

Leads to an even harder life

When a bacha posh attains the marriageable age she usually switches back to the life of a girl. However, in rare cases it can occur even later. Baryalai Fetrat, Kabul University's sociology professor told AFP that Bacha poshi is practised in particularly conservative areas of Afghanistan. The professor said that later these girls find it hard to go back to their normal self or act as a submissive wife to their husbands, leading to depression and domestic violence.

later these girls find it hard to go back to their normal self or act as a submissive wife to their husbands, leading to depression and domestic violence.

Gradually, when these girls get older and puberty discloses their biological gender, life becomes even more difficult. They have to then take measures to avoid harassment. On the street, or other public places, people yell and call them names, even referring to them as transsexual people.

Also: Smashing Patriarchy: These Afghan Girls are Learning Kung Fu