Afghanistan...

I was listening to NPR the other day and came across a story about religious traditions being carried out in Afghanistan.  They were reporting that in this certain fundamental community that it is, and has been, a tradition for adolescent boys (approximate age of 14) to be taken by adult men, dressed in womens clothes, dance for hours, then perform sexual acts with the older men.  The reporter asked them if in any way that this could be perceived as wrong.  The men state that it's tradition, and tradition can't be wrong or changed, and that it's their religious duty to perform these ceremonies.  In some cases, homeless boys performed these acts not willingly, but as a means to make some money to live.

This made me wonder a few different things. 
*Are these boys going to grow up and perform these same acts on others?
*How does this affect their ability to form and maintain relationships in the future?
*What, if anything, will change traditions such as these? - side note- I realize that even though I personally condemn these acts, who's to say that if I were born into this society that I might be an advocate?

You hear things of this nature about other cultures and it makes others cringe.  It further proves the point that gender identity is a social construction of truths and taboos within that specific culture.  In some cultures, the acts performed on these men might be considered a right of passage to becoming a man... It's hard not to judge and more difficult to imagine what it's like to be surrounded by points of view that are different than mine..

Just a few thoughts is all....