[3][4] Paying "..for sex gives [clients] easy access to women that they otherwise would not be able to meet or could only have contact with if they were married -- a costly exercise in itself.
[10] A number of women from China, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan have been trafficked for prostitution into Afghanistan.
Prostitution is even more strictly prohibited by the Taliban, with those thought of having extramarital sex risking extrajudicial killing by cultural fundamentalists and Islamists.
In the 1990s, prostitution existed clandestinely in Kabul, despite being outlawed due to the government following a very strict interpretation of the Islamic Sharia law.
[19] Prohibition for women to work under the Taliban regime means some street children have been forced into the trade in order to make a living.
[20] According to the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, females from Iran, Tajikistan, China, and possibly Uganda and other places have been forced into prostitution in Afghanistan.
[19][22] A 2007 University of Manitoba report suggests that there may be about 900 female prostitutes in Kabul,[22] which is a city with a population of over 4 million today.
According to Afghan traditions, the shame of prostitution is so intense that sometimes those involved in such activities are assassinated by the many religious extremists found throughout the country[13] or in some cases by family members.
"[19]Brothels, some run by foreigners, with links to larger criminal networks, have managed to exist by paying bribes to police officers who came to raid them.
As a form of adult entertainment, young males dress as females and dance in front of men to make money.
"Bacha bereesh" (meaning "boys without beards" in Persian language) occasionally dance to entertain men at certain parties, especially in the north parts of Afghanistan.
One such driver, Zalmay Ahmadi, told The Guardian: "When I drive around all the other cars flash their lights, beep their horns and people point at me.
[11] A number of Afghan women and girls sold in Pakistan, Iran and India are exploited in sex trafficking and domestic servitude by their new husbands.