Because the IOC bans political statements at the Olympics, an Afghan breakdancer was disqualified in 2024. She is now legally defending herself against the disqualification – and the interpretation of the rule.
The beat pulsates through the arena in Paris. Manizha Talash moves in rhythm, her movements are precise. Breakdancing will celebrate its premiere as an Olympic discipline at the 2024 Olympic Games. It is Talash’s first appearance in this tournament, and she will later say that she had never rehearsed it like this. During her performance, the young Afghan woman takes out a blue cape. When she unfolds it, a message becomes visible that will change her life: “Free the Afghan women.” Seconds that become a turning point – not just for her Olympic career, but for a debate that extends far beyond sport.
Because her call is seen as a political message, she is warned by the International Olympic Committee and shortly afterwards disqualified by her world association for “presenting a political slogan”.
More than a year later, Talash is back in the training room. The disqualification from Paris still weighs heavily on her. “After the Olympics ended, I had a lot of problems,” she says. “Every time I wanted to start training again I would get severe anxiety attacks – I think it was because of all the drama surrounding the Olympics.”
Escape from the Taliban
In her homeland she started breakdancing and was the only girl in her dance group. She received death threats. She says her dance studio has been bombed several times. She knows the price of lack of freedom. When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, life became a martyrdom for women. Sport? Forbidden. Education? Forbidden. Since then, their basic rights have been taken away.
Fearing for her life, Talash left the country of the radical Islamist Taliban and found refuge in exile. She competed for the refugee team at the Olympic Games – a chance to show the world her art and at the same time draw attention to the fate of her compatriots. “My disqualification was unfair,” the 22-year-old explains today, “I spoke about peace, about the right that all girls in the world have: the right to learn, work and move freely.”
The legal backlash
Now she wants to defend herself, not with dance moves, but with legal means. Together with human rights lawyer Andra Matei, she is challenging the disqualification by the World Dance Sport Federation. For Matei, the way in which the world association handled the exclusion of the young break dancer is particularly questionable. “There was no due process, but there was discrimination and the restriction of freedom of expression,” says Matei, explaining the complexity of the case. “Their message was a peaceful one: it was about freedom.”
At the center of the controversy is Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter. It stipulates that any “political, religious or racist demonstration or propaganda” is not permitted. In so-called guidelines published before each Olympic Games, the IOC justifies the rule by saying that it is a fundamental principle that sport is neutral at the Olympic Games.
But what exactly counts as “political” remains unclear. Antoine Duval, an expert in sports law, sees a fundamental problem here: “Defining what is and is not political statements is extremely difficult and controversial,” says Duval, who researches at the Asser Institute in The Hague. Under Rule 50, “the IOC does not provide a definition by which an athlete can actually predict when they will and will not express themselves politically.”
Unequal standards?
Duval points out that there is no standard for sanctions under the rule. While Talash was disqualified, other athletes recently went unpunished: At the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladislav Heraskevich held a sheet with the inscription “No war in Ukraine” into the camera – without consequences. The Chinese cyclists who wore pins of communist leader Mao Zedong at their award ceremony in Tokyo? No disqualification. Even Talash’s compatriot Kimia Yousufi was allowed to display “Education, sport – our right” on her start number with impunity after her sprint in Paris.
The IOC leaves the rule interpretation to the international professional associations. “As an athlete, you can be lucky and the international federation doesn’t apply Rule 50. Or you can be unlucky and the federation interprets the rule very strictly,” explains Duval.
Manizha Talash’s disqualification reveals a bitter reality: Having fled from her home country to avoid complete disenfranchisement, she is being punished for sending a message at a sporting event in Europe. A parallel that sports law expert Duval sees as a “tragic irony”. “Defending Afghan women’s human rights should not be controversial”.
Missed opportunity for sport
Criticism of the vague application of Rule 50 also comes from Germany. Johannes Herber, managing director of the Athletes Association of Germany, has a clear demand: “The IOC should definitely review this rule again and again, should evaluate it and should make it more concrete.
The athlete’s representative shows understanding for the complexity of the case: “This disqualification by the world association is understandable on the basis of Rule 50, but it is actually not so if you consider what statement the athlete wanted to make with it. These are all values that are also an essential part of the Olympic movement.”
A precedent for the future
The IOC defends its regulation. When contacted, it said that the Rule 50 guidelines were the result of an extensive consultation process with over 3,500 athletes and that advice from human rights experts was taken into account. There will be no speculation as to when there will be a further review of the rules or guidelines.
Meanwhile, lawyer Andra Matei is pushing for movement in the IOC. The application of the rule needs more clarity for the benefit of the athletes. “Our goal is to set a precedent,” she explains. “We want to ensure that future athletes, especially from disadvantaged groups such as minorities or refugees, do not have to go through the same experiences as Manizha.”
The dance continues
Manizha Talash is now training again. The anxiety becomes less and the joy of life slowly returns. She doesn’t just want to fight for herself, but for everyone who should be silenced.
“This fight belongs to all of us,” she says firmly. “We need to make sport a place where you can speak freely and advocate for peace – not a place where you are afraid and not allowed to express your opinions freely.”
A blue cape, a brave gesture, a moment of truth – Manizha Talash didn’t just dance breakdance in Paris. She danced for freedom. Their dance isn’t over yet.