Bacha Posh Documentary 9.27.19 Cultural Anthropology PDF

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Patrick Edwards Dr. Anderson ANTH-102 27 September 2019 Questions on Bacha Posh Documentary 1. How is one defined as a Bacha Posh? In the film, a bacha posh is defined as a girl that is dressed like a boy. For instance, the beginning of the film talks about a girl named Shabina that must dress as a boy to help her father work in their small grocery store to help feed the family because he is handicapped. As part of her personna, she goes by her street name, Zahid and many times it’s easier for girls to take on male traits to avoid abuse and mistreatment. This action is socially acceptable until the girls reach puberty. Upon this, it is expected for the girls to resume their identity as a woman but in some cases, the girls either continue to dress as a boy for the sake of freedoms and privileges or to help to continue to support their family, or just go back to their original biological identification. 2. Within their own societies, what types of jobs would a Bacha Posh have? In society, many girls pretend to be boys in order to work, study, or simply walk freely without their veils. In families without boys, girls are occasionally turned into boys at a young age to take care of the home, shop, and work for the family. Along the lines of responsibilities, some Bacha Posh also take the roles of men in the family as a means of filling a need that their family may be lacking. In the case of families without fathers, Bacha Posh are the protectors and providers in some cases for the rest of the family members because a household of only women and children would struggle to make ends meet. 3. How are Bacha Posh viewed by others in their society? In the film, it talks about the culture of Bacha Posh being a tabooed practice. But many families in the country resort to this due to the severe restrictions imposed on women. Some of which had to live “double lives” like Mariam to participate in privileges only given to men. Mariam, is a girl and attends an all girls school, where she must wear her traditional clothing but after classes, changes into her boy clothes and goes to tennis practice. She is the best female tennis player in Afghanistan but only tells her close

friends of her true identity. Wholistically, women that dress as men are highly frowned upon but it's becoming a more common occurrence due to the current social conflicts in middle eastern countries and cultures. 4. What type of social network does a Bacha Posh belong too (if applicable)? I think the most important dynamic is the connections many bacha posh make with family and close friends. From the film, I didn’t get a sense that there was any interconnectedness between bacha posh themselves but rather just their direct friends and family. In a lot of ways, these ties were the only individuals that knew of their double identities and in some cases, were the fuel to them choosing a male lifestyle over a female. This was more than often due to the needs of the family and the eldest daughter being responsible for filling the void to ensure the family was able to live. 5. Is a Bacha Posh linked with religion and religious elements? Bacha Posh goes against many of the perceptions of women in the Islamic religion, specifically in the act of dressing in the opposite gender. For many like Jack, they are reluctant to identify with their biological gender due to the lack of rights and social status in Islamic social structures. Traditionally, girls must wear clothes that hide the entire body and cover the head. In addition, most girls aren’t allowed to participate in sports, school, and single lifestyles as these are reserved to men. As a result, many girls see this as an opportunity to have freedom of choice in what they do with their lives....