Chinese 'restaurants' rated too spicy for Afghan men

KABUL - Afghan police have rounded up scores of suspects in a series of raids across Kabul. But this time the prisoners were not Taleban insurgents but Chinese women - the notorious Chinese prostitutes of Kabul.

In the four years since the fall of the Taleban, an extraordinary number of "Chinese restaurants" have opened up in Kabul. Although they have bright neon signs and menus, and they do sell food; most are fronts for prostitution.

Chinese restaurants have become so synonymous with brothels in Kabul that it's not a good idea to tell anybody you are going for a Chinese meal in case they get the wrong impression.

By day you can spot the prostitutes hanging around the restaurants, often wearing skimpy clothes that would be unimaginable for any Afghan woman.

For years the police have largely turned a blind eye to the brothels, but now it appears they have decided to crack down. The Interior Ministry said 46 foreign women had been arrested for prostitution and for selling alcohol to Afghans. Privately, the ministry said they were all Chinese. The crackdown may be connected to newly elected members of Parliament saying publicly that they were going after the Government over the widespread prostitution in Kabul.

The brothels are regarded in Afghan society as a corrupting effect of the West. Most are in the expensive neighbourhoods of Wazir Akbar Khan and Shar-e Now, amid the expensive restaurants and bars frequented by foreign diplomats, UN staff and NGO workers who live in Kabul.

The brothels attract both foreign and Afghan men. But that has not stopped them being seen by Kabulis as a result of foreign influence.

The alcohol question is adding to the controversy. Restaurants and bars that sell alcohol are closed to most Afghans, but many of the illegal Chinese "restaurants" have also sold alcohol to Afghan men.

The Interior Ministry said the women arrested would be deported from Afghanistan.

- INDEPENDENT