- A culturally-contrived homosexuality (significantly not termed as such by its practitioners) appears to affect a far greater population base then some researchers would argue is attributable to natural inclination.

- Some of its root causes lie in the severe segregation of women, the prohibitive cost of marriage within Pashtun tribal codes, and the depressed economic situation into which young Pashtun men are placed.

- Other root causes include a long-standing cultural tradition in which boys are appreciated for physical beauty and apprenticed to older men for their sexual initiation. The fallout of this pattern of behavior over generations has a profound impact on Pashtun society and culture.

- Homosexuality is strictly prohibited in Islam, but cultural interpretations of Islamic teaching prevalent in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan tacitly condone it in comparison to heterosexual relationships in several contexts.

- Pashtun men are freer with companionship, affection, emotional and artistic expression, and the trust bred of familiarity with other men. They often lack the experience of these aspects of life with women.

- This usurping of the female role may contribute to the alienation of women over generations, and their eventual relegation to extreme segregation and abuse.

Originally Posted By ChinkWithDink⏩

Originally Posted By Ausaric⏩

Another, more complex phenomena, highlighted in the Los Angeles Times article as well as the Reuters article and others, is that men who take on a halekon often attempt to integrate the boy into their families by marrying him to a daughter when the boy is no longer young enough to play the “beardless” role. This maintains the love relationship between the father and son-in-law which inevitably makes difficult the establishment of a normal relationship with the wife. The once-halekon becomes a father with his new wife, and then begins to seek a teenage boy with whom he can play the “bearded” role.

Originally Posted By ChinkWithDink⏩

Originally Posted By BraddlesMcGee⏩

Originally Posted By Ausaric⏩

In his 29 years, Mohammed Daud has seen the faces of perhaps 200 women. A
few dozen were family members. The rest were glimpses stolen when he should
not have been looking and the women were caught without their face-shrouding
burkas. "How can you fall in love with a girl if you can't see her face?" he asks.
Daud is unmarried and has sex only with men and boys. But he does not consider
himself homosexual, at least not in the Western sense. "I like boys, but I like girls
better," he says. "It's just that we can't see the women to see if they are beautiful.
But we can see the boys, and so we can tell which of them is beautiful."

Originally Posted By SpeakethTruth⏩

Originally Posted By ChinkWithDink⏩