The Afghan Girls Who Live as Boys

In Afghanistan, where sons are highly prized, some families dress their prepubescent daughters to look like boys. These children are colloquially known as “bacha posh.”

Source: The Atlantic
Published: Sep 8, 2014
Length: 12 minutes (3,209 words)

Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part

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.

Published: Sep 20, 2010
Length: 16 minutes (4,086 words)