KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In a Kabul neighborhood, a gaggle of boys kick a yellow ball around a dusty playground, their boisterous cries echoing off the surrounding apartment buildings. Dressed in ...

CHAO: So, I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about your background. When did you first come across this practice of bacha posh? HASHIMI: So, it's interesting -- when you grow up, within ...

In Afghanistan, there are girls, there are boys, and then there are the bacha posh, a temporary third gender for girls who live as boys. The practice is at least a century old and is used by families ...

At first glance, 13-year-old Mangal Karimy could be any boy living in a small village in western Afghanistan, hauling firewood and feeding cattle on his father’s farm. Silently he hurries between ...

For centuries, families in Afghanistan with no male heirs have turned to the tradition of bacha posh. Daughters are transformed into sons — their hair cut, names changed, dresses swapped out for boys’ ...

Bacha Posh: A young Afghan girl dressed up and raised as a boy. Night Shelters: A shelter in India that offers protection for young children. Child Brides: young girls being married off in India.

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a Kabul neighborhood, a gaggle of boys kick a yellow ball around a dusty playground, their boisterous cries echoing off the surrounding apartment buildings. Dressed in sweaters ...