Times are so tough in Afhanistan families are being forced to dress up their young girls as boys in hopes they will find work and attend school.  Although the practice dates back some time, more girls than ever are encouraged to practice this.  Check out a snippet from the New York Times about the “bacha posh,” which literally means “dressed up as a boy”:

Afghan families have many reasons for pretending their girls are boys, including economic need, social pressure to have sons, and in some cases, a superstition that doing so can lead to the birth of a real boy. Lacking a son, the parents decide to make one up, usually by cutting the hair of a daughter and dressing her in typical Afghan men’s clothing.

In a land where sons are more highly valued, since in the tribal culture usually only they can inherit the father’s wealth and pass down a name, families without boys are the objects of pity and contempt. Even a made-up son increases the family’s standing, at least for a few years. A bacha posh can also more easily receive an education, work outside the home, even escort her sisters in public, allowing freedoms that are unheard of for girls in a society that strictly segregates men and women. But for some, the change can be disorienting as well as liberating, stranding the women in a limbo between the sexes.

“When you don’t have a son in Afghanistan, it’s like a big missing in your life. Like you lost the most important point of your life. Everybody feels sad for you…”

Of course it can be very difficult for the bacha posh to begin acting like women in public once they can no longer hide their sex, which leads to a slew of other issues.

Would you be willing to dress your little girl up as a boy for a couple years so they could get a better education and job?

Tagged as: Afghanistan, Bacha Posh, Dressing Up Like Boy, Sex, Social Pressure