Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Articles Article Faculty Publications -Articles Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bacha Posh: Gender Construct in Afghan Culture Examined through the Lens of Children in Literature Subject The topic of the resource Afghanistan; Bacha Posh; children; culture; gender; Taliban Description An account of the resource With the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and their return in 2021, Afghanistan has undergone drastic socio-political changes. In many families, children are introduced to the practice of Bacha Posh (dressing up like a boy), an Afghan cultural custom where girls are dressed up as boys until they are married off. Despite children being central to this practice, it has not been studied through their eyes. This article examines the custom of Bacha Posh through the childrens perspective and situates it within the current socio-political scenario of the country. A textual and cultural analysis of three literary works is carried out through a study of their child characters to examine how Afghan culture creates its own gender construct. Two are significant works of childrens literature that revolve around real-life stories of Bacha Posh Nadia Hashimis One Half from the East (2016) and Deborah Ellis The Breadwinner (2000). The third work is The Underground Girls of Kabul (2014) by Jenny Nordberg, a seminal work in the study of Bacha Posh in which Nordberg focuses on the practice of Bacha Posh and presents the voice of children. This article then goes on to study the impact of the restrictive nature of the Taliban regime on girls and its influence on the cultural custom of Bacha Posh. It demonstrates how this practice creates an unstable gender construct among children, as evidenced by the gender dysphoria that some girls experience. It thus demonstrates the impact of culture on gender through filling in the gaps between culture, literature and politics. 2023, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR). All rights reserved. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Banerjee R.; Sharon J. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol-8, No. 2, pp. 65-80. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-01-01 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context <a href="https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.8.2.04" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.8.2.04</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85182480060&amp;doi=10.22492%2Fijcs.8.2.04&amp;partnerID=40&amp;md5=2be30a7329c1d998bf19f683dde73623" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85182480060&amp;doi=10.22492%2fijcs.8.2.04&amp;partnerID=40&amp;md5=2be30a7329c1d998bf19f683dde73623</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Open Access; Gold Open Access Relation A related resource ISSN: 21874905 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Online Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Article Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Banerjee R., Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India; Sharon J., Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India