For economic and social reasons, many Afghan parents want to have a son, BBC reported. This preference has led to some of them practicing the long-standing tradition of Bacha Posh -- disguising girls as boys.

Azita Rafhat is a former member of the Afghan parliament. Three of her daughters are clothed in white garments and their heads covered with white scarves, but a fourth girl, Mehrnoush, is dressed in a suit and tie.

When they go outside, Mehrnoush is no longer a girl but a boy named Mehran. Azita Rafhat didn't have a son, and to fill the gap and avoid people's taunts for not having a son, she opted for this radical decision.

"When you have a good position in Afghanistan and are well off, people look at you differently. They say your life becomes complete only if you have a son," she says.

Many girls disguised as boys can be found in Afghan markets. Some families disguise their daughters as boys so that they can easily work on the streets to feed their families.

Elaha lives in Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan. She lived as a boy for 20 years because her family didn't have a son and reverted only two years ago when she had to go to university.

However, she does not feel fully female: she says her habits are not girlish and she does not want to get married.

(China.org.cn March 29, 2012)

據英國廣播公司報道，由于經濟和社會原因，阿富汗許多父母想要一個兒子。這種偏愛導致阿富汗形成了一個悠久的傳統，即把女孩扮成男孩。

阿茲塔·瑞菲特是阿富汗一名前議員。她的3個女兒都身著白色長衫，頭系白色頭巾，但是她的小女兒梅爾諾什卻穿西裝打領帶。

當她們外出時，梅爾諾什就不再是女孩了，而是一個名叫梅汗的小男孩。阿茲塔·瑞菲特沒有兒子，為了彌補這一缺憾，避免外人嘲諷她沒有兒子，她只有做出這個偏激的決定。

她說：“當你在阿富汗有很高的社會地位并且很富有，人們就會對你另眼相看。他們會認為，只有你生了個兒子，你的人生才會變得完整。”

在阿富汗街上可以找到很多女扮男裝的孩子。有些家庭將女孩裝扮成男孩，是為了讓她們找工作更容易些，來賺錢養家。

艾拉哈居住在阿富汗北部的馬扎里沙利夫。因為家中沒有兒子，她就扮成男孩生活了20年。直到兩年前，她因為要上大學，才又變回女兒身。

然而，她卻完全感覺不到自己是個女人：她說她的各種習慣已經不再女性化，而且她完全不想結婚。