Manizha Talash (; born 2002), known competitively as b-girl Talash, is an Afghan

breakdancer Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

. She competed at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

in Paris as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.

Biography

Talash was born in 2002 and grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan. She first discovered breakdancing at age 17 through a Facebook video. She said that "When I saw a video online of a man just spinning over his head ... I immediately told myself: 'That's what I want to do with my life! She was able to get in contact with the man in the video and joined a breakdancing club in Kabul, called Superiors Crew, where she was one of 56 members and the only girl. Talash was described by media sources as "Afghanistan's first female breakdancer", and she faced challenges as dancing is viewed negatively by many in Afghanistan. She continued breakdancing despite receiving opposition from her family and a number of death threats; her club was the target of bombings three times, with two going off and causing multiple deaths. The third was an attempted suicide bombing that was stopped by the police. Afterwards, the club was ordered to close for being a "major threat". Despite the difficulties, when asked whether she ever considered stopping, she replied: "I love breaking too much for that!" After the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021 and outlawed dancing for being "un-Islamic", Talash and her younger brother crossed over to Pakistan, where they lived for one year. She then moved to Spain as a

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

with her brother and six other members of her breakdancing club. In 2024, through a friend, Talash was discovered by the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and was selected for the

, which featured the debut of breakdancing. She competed in the Olympics, and wore a cape with the phrase "Free Afghan Women" on it in the pre-qualifier round. She lost the round 0-3 to India Sardjoe from the Netherlands, before the result was updated to her being disqualified for displaying a political slogan, which is a violation of rule 50 of the

Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the 136th IOC Session, held by video conference. Adop ...

Personal life

Talash learned Spanish after moving to Madrid in 2022. Her mother, who had been living in Afghanistan, moved to Spain to rejoin Talash and her brother in 2024. Talash enjoys dyeing her hair and is working on a

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...

fashion line inspired by traditional Afghan designs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talash, Manizha 2002 births Living people 21st-century Afghan sportswomen Afghan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Afghan sportswomen Breakdancers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Summer Olympics Refugees in Spain Sportspeople from Kabul Sportspeople of Afghan descent Afghan women fashion designers Afghan fashion designers Afghan refugees Afghan female dancers