The seizure of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan has been much in the news lately. Famous anchors speak about atrocities and murders committed by the Talibs. The attitude of Western countries to the change of power in Afghanistan is profoundly negative. Looking at the event through an intersectional lens, one can determine why such an attitude is formed and what influences affect our views on this topic.
The most impactful influences that shape our attitude to this event include society, religious identity, education, and affinity groups. Western societies are based on the separation of church and state principles, the rule of law, equality before the law, freedom of conscience and expression, human rights, and liberal democracy (Stauffer, 2021). It is unacceptable to Westerners to see freedom of conscience and speech suppressed, which is precisely what is happening in Afghanistan now. Moreover, the religious state of Islam, where laws are based on what is written in Coran, seems outdated to western people. We are used to the separation of church and state; it is difficult to realize that the country can treat religious tenets as laws.
Religious identity may play a part here since Christians see this event more negatively than Muslims. Western education presupposes equal educational opportunities for everyone, boys and girls; the attitude of the Taliban to women as inferior people is inadmissible in Western societies. The denial of access to education to girls is seen as a violation of rights by western people. Affinity groups contribute to forming negative attitudes as well. When everyone around a person speaks about the actions of the Taliban as atrocious and horrible, it is difficult not to be influenced by this point of view.
Reference
Stauffer, R. B. (2021). Western values and the case for third world cultural disengagement. In Bonds without bondage (pp. 257-282). University of Hawaii Press.