According to reports from doctors and police officials in Jowzjan province, a nine-year-old boy was hospitalized after being raped by an older boy in the Mangjak district on Wednesday. The victim's family rushed him to the hospital for emergency care shortly after the incident occurred.

According to doctors at the Aqcha District Hospital where the victim was taken, the mental state of the victim was a matter of concern, but after receiving treatment and spending a day at the hospital, his condition has improved.

"We are treating the raped victim. His condition was really bad when they brought him in, but after spending a day, he is better now," said Said Elmi, a doctor at Aqcha District hospital.

Faqeer Muhammad Jowzjani, the Jowzjan Police Commander, confirmed the incident and said that the rapist, a 14-year-old boy, had already been apprehended. Both the identity of the victim and the culprit were withheld.

"The boy who has raped the nine year-old-boy is fourteen. We have arrested him and we will investigate the case," said Mr. Jowzjani.

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) expressed concerns with the rise in cases of rape seen in Northern Afghanistan and urged the courts to impose greater penalties against those who commit the crime.

"We confirm the incident and must add that this type of thing in the North of country is often done by powerful individuals and also as a result of conflicts between families," said Latifa Sultani, Coordinator of Women and Children's Rights at AIHRC. "These incidents happen more frequently in the northern parts of the country."

In the recent years, several human rights institutions have issued reports on the prevalence of child rape in Afghanistan and have said that efforts to curtail the phenomenon through law enforcement have been feeble and largely ineffective.

Cases of young boys being raped are often not found to be perpetrated by others of the same or nearly-the-same age as in the example of Wednesday's incident. The practice of "Bacheh-Baazi" – the sexual enslavement of young boys – is more commonly the context in which boys are sexually abused in Afghanistan. While considered antiquated and taboo by modern standards, the practice has been reported as being still prevalent in Afghanistan. The involvement of wealthy and powerful men in the custom is thought to be the reason behind its persistence, despite it being outlawed.