Early reports indicated that an Afghan volleyball player was beheaded by the Taliban, but an update from the girl’s parents contradicts that information.
Initial Reports
Mahjabin Hakimi had been a player in the Kabul Municipality Volleyball Club until the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
Soon after the hostile takeover, Hakimi’s volleyball coach claimed that she was killed, and cited pictures that appeared to show her severed head that had been seen on social media. The coach’s claims were reported by several news outlets across the world, and were confirmed, in part, by other members of the volleyball team.
Zahra Fayazi, one of Hakimi’s teammates who fled from Afghanistan to the UK amidst the Taliban takeover, spoke to the BBC and revealed that a member of her team had been murdered by the Taliban.
In September, players from Afghanistan’s national volleyball team said they were in hiding from the insurgents.
“Our players who were living in the provinces had to leave and live in other places,” she said.
“They even burned their sports equipment to save themselves and their families,” Fayazi added. “They didn’t want them to keep anything related to sport. They are scared. Many of our players who are from provinces were threatened many times by their relatives who are Taliban and Taliban followers.”
“The Taliban asked our players’ families to not allow their girls to do sport, otherwise they will be faced with unexpected violence,” she continued.
A former member of the volleyball team, who used the pseudonym Sophia in order to protect her family still living in Afghanistan, fled the country in 2019 after being stabbed by two men in Kabul. Sophia kept in contact with her teammates, and says she was told that one girl was shot in August.
“I’m sure it was the Taliban,” Sophia told the BBC.
“At that time the Taliban was overtaking all of the cities and there were no other groups that would do this,” she added. “She was only a player and she didn’t do anything for people to want to attack her.”
Update
Hakimi’s family has come out and claimed that she was not beheaded, and was not killed by the Taliban.
One family member, who said that Hakimi died on August 6th, shared an image with the press of her tombstone which had the date of her death inscribed on it.
Her brother, Skandar Hakimi, posted a picture of his sister on Facebook soon after her death, with the caption: “I will always be proud of you dear Sister.”
In the picture, she was wearing military fatigues and carrying a gun. It was reported that she was a police officer or a member of the Afghan National Army.
Pictures of her body have circulated on social media, and they appear to show that her head was still attached to her body.
It is unclear whether her family is contradicting earlier reports out of fear or whether the earlier reports were actually untrue.