Male adolescent concubinage in Peshawar, Northwestern Pakistan

This paper reports on findings from four interviews held with young men who have experienced male adolescent concubinage relationships with adult men in Peshawar, Northwestern Pakistan. These relationships are referred to by the Pashtun people involved as bacha baazi. Similar relationships (called bacabozlik) were described by Ingeborg Baldauf among the Uzbeks and Pashtun of Afghanistan, based on observations made in the late-1970s. This paper compares Baldauf's observations with our own, indicating significant differences and similarities. Implications for future research and for social protection programmes are discussed.