Van Engeland, Anicee --- "The voiceless child soldiers of Afghanistan" [2019] ELECD 1709; in Drumbl, A. Mark; Barrett, C. Jastine (eds), "Research Handbook on Child Soldiers" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 175

Book Title: Research Handbook on Child Soldiers

Editor(s): Drumbl, A. Mark; Barrett, C. Jastine

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: The voiceless child soldiers of Afghanistan

Author(s): Van Engeland, Anicée

Number of pages: 20

Abstract/Description:

This chapter addresses the agency of children associated with armed forces and armed groups in Afghanistan. Although globally there may be a continuum of volunteerism upon which the child soldier experience may be mapped, Afghanistan presents as a point on the far end of that continuum. In Afghanistan, children do not enrol to fight with armed non-state actors (Taleban, ISIS or militias) or the armed forces. This choice is usually made for them by the family or the community. In a context that has witnessed a surge in recruitment, male Afghan children have been kidnapped, sold, exchanged for protection and coerced to join for a salary. Once recruited, these children endure exposure to violence, drugs and sexual abuses. Death or migration are among the most realistic ‘exit’ patterns, so to speak. The chapter unpacks how to understand and approach child soldiers struggling within highly coercive socio-political contexts.