Barbie-maker Mattel unveiled its first hijab wearing Barbie doll on Monday, in honor of the Olympian fencer, ibtihaj Muhammad. she also happens to be the first muslim-american athlete to compete wearing the hijab in her 2016 Olympic debut with team usa.
The new doll, set for public release next fall, forms is part of Barbie’s “Shero” (female hero) line, which celebrates boundary breaking women intended to inspire the next generation. “I had so many moments as an athlete, where I didn’t feel included, where I was often in spaces where there was a lack of representation. So to be in this moment, as a U.S. Olympian, to have Mattel, such a global brand, diversify their toy line to include a Barbie doll that wears a hijab is very moving to me,” Ibtihaj said Monday night, the Associated Press reported.
Ibtihaj worked with Mattel to design the Barbie and said her resemblance to the doll, which wears a fencing uniform and carries a sabre, is uncanny. “I know that as an athlete I have larger legs — these strong legs that we use, especially fencers, to propel ourselves into lunges — and it was important for me to have my doll be as close to my likeness as possible,” she said. The Barbie even has Ibtihaj’s style of eye-liner. "I like to think of my eyeliner as a shield of power; I not only wear it to the grocery store, but I also wear it to compete. I wore it to the Olympic games, so I wanted my Barbie to have the perfect winged liner and also to wear a hijab,” Ibtihaj said.
“Barbie is celebrating Ibtihaj not only for her accolades as an Olympian, but for embracing what makes her stand out,” Sejal Shah Miller, vice president of global marketing for Barbie said. “Ibtihaj is an inspiration to countless girls who never saw themselves represented, and by honoring her story, we hope this doll reminds them that they can be and do anything.”
Watch below the Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad's experience in Barbieland.