GETTY Afghan youngsters are being forced to dress up and are sexually abused by their masters

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Bacha bazi, meaning ‘boy play’, is a tradition found across the country where boys are made to perform. But the Afghan custom has a darker side that sees the youngsters treated as little more than sex slaves.

GETTY War lords may own as many as 10 boys, generally aged between 13 and 15

The young victims are ‘bought’ by their masters, made to wear dresses and makeup and satisfy their owners’ twisted sexual desires. For the boys, more than two fifths of whom are aged between 13 and 15, being chosen means a life sentence – one which will see them cast out of their families and shunned by society.

GETTY Boys are passed round by groups of middle aged men and forced to please them sexually

Shukur was 12 years old when he was stolen away from his family and made to be a ‘bacha bereesh’. It took him five years to escape from his master.

GETTY Afghan boys who are bought face being turned away by their families and shunned by society

Dr Soraya Sobhrang, who campaigned against the crime, said: “A war lord has many - they keep maybe 10 boys altogether." She added: “When the boys are beautiful it shows they are powerful, but also the number. "You have to spend a lot of money to pay the boys, feed the boys, keep them clothed. It shows your wealth.”

GETTY 'Owners' force the boys to wear makeup and wear dresses before satisfying their sexual desires

In a 2009 documentary, The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan, a musician revealed: “They have sex with their masters and then at parties they are abused by different people."