She was one of the first to break at a Games. She seized the moment

An Afghan breaker who starred in the Olympics’ first-ever dance battle has also become the first athlete of the games to stage a political protest, after she ripped off her over-shirt during her performance to reveal a cape bearing the words, “Free Afghan Women”.

Manizha Talash, who was representing the refugee team, was born and began breaking in Afghanistan. She is not one of the three men and three women athletes representing Afghanistan, although the Taliban does not recognise the three female athletes.

Manizha Talash, known as Talash, wears a cape which reads ‘Free Afghan Women’ as she competes in Paris.Credit: AP

The International Olympic Committee forbids political points to be made on the field of play or at ceremonies. Since Tokyo, it has allowed athletes to express themselves to journalists and through social media, but only if it’s not targeted at people or countries and is not disruptive.

Talash did not address journalists after her protest and spoke briefly only to Britain’s BBC through an interpreter. The reporter, Katie Gornall, said Talash said her performance showed “anything is possible” and that it was “very difficult for me to pursue my dream”.

Later, breaking’s governing body, the World DanceSport Federation, Talah had been “disqualified for displaying a political slogan on her attire.”

Talash grew up in Afghanistan and joined a breaking collective in Kabul when she was 17, and saw a video of a man dancing on his head. Her relatives didn’t approve. “Everyone was judging me… my relatives were saying words behind my back and complained to my mother,” she told an earlier interview with the BBC.

In 2020, a car bomb exploded near the dance club. Her father was abducted by insurgents and has not been seen since. She kept dancing, hoping to compete in Paris, but her club was forced to close when one of the dancers was found to be a potential terrorist planning to bomb it.

“[Police] told us that this time we were lucky because there were people who wanted to bomb our club and if we loved our lives, we should shut it,” she said.

When the Taliban took over, girls were banned from school and gyms and had to cover themselves from head to foot.

She and some of the other dancers flew to Spain, where some of her family have subsequently been able to join her.

Fellow breakers empathised with Talash’s plight and supported her message. “Women’s rights are so important and they’re really under threat in Afghanistan,” said Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, aka B-Girl Raygun. “It’s really important that we bring light to this issue and we try to support the people that are really suffering under some really toxic, dangerous regimes.”

Breaking grew from marginalised groups in New York’s Bronx, and is popular among Australians whose parents and grandparents fled war-torn countries in south-east Asia.

“[Talash’s protest] is in keeping [with the] culture,” said Gunn. “Hip hop is about empowering those who have been disadvantaged, disenfranchised, giving a voice to those, so, you know it’s not surprising that this became a platform for that. I think it is a really important message to get out there.”

French breaker Syssy (her real name is Sya Dembélé) said the protest had inspired her to find out more about the plight facing Afghan women.

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