Why young girls are disguised as boys in Afghanistan

"The undated video was released to social media by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers in early February. It's one of many videos of interrogations they've circulated. The clips emphasize the group's power: A Taliban agent is the voice behind the camera, demanding that their subject answer questions. But this video stood out: The agent was interrogating a girl, dressed as a boy."

"Women are banned from working in most professions. Those who do not have male relatives able, or willing, to support them are driven into hunger and poverty. The Taliban say that this video was shot four years ago likely not long after they swept to power in August 2021."

"Bacha posh girls have long captured the imaginations of Westerners in Afghanistan. It was addressed in the movie Osama in 2003 and the 2018 Oscar-nominated animation film The Breadwinner, produced by Angelina Jolie. It was the subject of a deep-dive book published in 2014, The Underground Girls of Kabul."

The Taliban released a video in February showing an interrogation of a 13-year-old girl dressed as an Afghan boy, sparking viral attention about women's conditions under Taliban rule. The girl wore traditional male clothing including loose pants, a long shirt, and a beaded cap while being questioned by a Taliban agent. The video underscores the Taliban's restrictions on women's employment and economic opportunities, forcing those without male support into poverty and hunger. The practice of girls disguising as boys, called bacha posh, has existed for centuries in Afghanistan's patriarchal society but has gained new relevance under current Taliban governance. The Taliban claimed the video was shot four years ago, though the timing and reason for its recent release remain unclear.

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