Taliban militants have allegedly beheaded a member of the Afghan junior women's national volleyball team, according to a report quoting the team's coach. Mahjabin Hakimi, a promising young player, who would have eventually made it to the national team, was beheaded by the Taliban, earlier this month.
However, the news came to light only on Wednesday after the team's coach revealed this during an interview with the Persian Independent. The coach also revealed that several other women members of the team are in the hiding on fears that they too would eventually be captured and meet the same fate as Hakimi.
Taliban Brutality Exposed
In an interview, the team's coach, who hasn't been named, said a Hakimi was killed by the Taliban earlier in October, but nobody learnt about the gruesome murder as the insurgents had threatened her family not to talk about it.
Interestingly, an image of a severed head of a girl's bloodied neck turned up on social media platforms a few days but it is not known if it was that of Hakimi.
Hakimi played for the Kabul Municipality Volleyball Club before the Taliban took control over Kabul in August following which the Ashraf Ghani government collapsed and he had to flee the country. Hakimi, according to her coach was one of the club's star players and was about to make it to the Afghanistan's national team.
The coach reportedly said in the interview, "All the players of the volleyball team and the rest of the women athletes are in a bad situation and despair."
Taliban Brutality Continues
Following the capture of Kabul and the evacuation by US troops, the new Taliban government promised that there would be no torture on women. However, a few days later they started showing their true colors, with reports of women being gangraped, tortured and beaten to death.
The Taliban regime also said that women won't be allowed to play sport. Understandably, Hakimi's killing is a result of that. The team's coach also said that only two of the players managed to flee the country and the life of the other players are in danger, with everyone fearing getting tortured and killed by the Taliban militants.
The coach said that almost everyone in the team has been forced to live underground. He also claimed that since the takeover, Taliban have been hunting down and tracking women who are into sports.
The Afghan national women's volleyball team was formed in 1978 and has long been a beacon of hope and empowerment for young girls in the country. However, Hakimi's death has fueled fears of being targeted by the Taliban. Efforts by members of the team to gain the support of foreign organizations and countries to leave Afghanistan have so far been unsuccessful.
