In a private studio in Mannheim, Germany, two Afghan sisters channel their trauma and resilience into art that defies oppression and reclaims joy. Manizha and Zahra Abbasi, both in their twenties, fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return in 2021. They arrived in Germany as refugees, but their journey was not just one of displacement – it was a transformation into artists and activists.

Zahra’s path to art was shaped by both passion and circumstance. A former national-level cyclist, she was just a week away from receiving her ID card to officially join Afghanistan’s under-18 cycling team when the Taliban seized power.

“Cycling was my dream,” she recalls. “But the Taliban banned it. I had to leave everything behind.” Alongside her athletic pursuits, Zahra had always been drawn to painting. In exile, she turned to her art to process her grief and to speak out.

Manizha, a former journalist and film student, faced similar erasure. “My work and education became direct threats to my life,” she says. “Germany was the only country that accepted my whole family, so we came here for safety.”

In the safety of exile, the sisters found a new purpose: to make visible the lives of Afghan women silenced under Taliban rule.

The sisters’ art is both intimate and political.

Zahra’s photography captures Afghan women in traditional dresses and burkas, juxtaposing them with images of foreign women on a ballet course. The contrast is stark, yet the connection is clear.

Manizha’s paintings depict women in burkas, their faces obscured, yet their presence undeniable. “Our paintings represent all the talented Afghan women whose dreams were erased,” she says. “Millions of ‘Emma Watsons’ disappear silently every day.”

The sisters also perform dance as resistance. Wearing handmade Afghan dresses, they perform traditional movements – even belly dancing – in public spaces. “There are no ballet dancers from Afghanistan,” Zahra says. “It’s completely banned. I wanted to perform what was never allowed, to show joy, beauty and the creativity in Afghan women’s hands to the world.”

Art as resistance

Through their art, the sisters aim to reclaim what was stolen from Afghan women – their right to be themselves, to choose, to feel, to speak. “The basic right to live fully as human beings has been taken from Afghan women,” Zahra says. “Through our art, we uncover hidden stories and give voice to the silenced.”

Their work is not just for themselves; it is for Afghans back home and for the world. “We want the younger generation to understand what’s happening to them,” Manizha says. “And for Western audiences, we want them to see us as more than victims. We are artists, thinkers, and survivors.”

Through their platform, Afghan Unseen, the sisters offer their art to the world, inviting others to witness and support their vision. Their work is a testament to the power of art as resistance and the unbreakable spirit of Afghan women.