Barbie, Muslim-Style
The little doll who has the power to destroy little girls' self-esteem is at it again. Well not exactly a Barbie, this one's called Fulla and she's the hottest new toy in the Middle East. Poor, poor young Muslim girls. Then again we have the anorexic blond-bimbo Barbie to contend with. Thank you male dominated corporations for making girls all over the world have skewed body image and fucked up sense of self.Fulla is the dark-eyed doll with, as her creator puts it, "Muslim values." She roughly shares Barbie's size and proportions, but steps out of her shiny pink box wearing a black abaya and matching head scarf. She is named after a type of jasmine that grows in the Levant, and although she has an extensive and beautiful wardrobe (sold separately, of course), Fulla is usually displayed wearing her modest "outdoor fashion."...
Young girls here are obsessed with Fulla, and conservative parents who would not dream of buying Barbies for their daughters seem happy to pay for a modest doll who has her own tiny prayer rug, in pink felt. Children who want to dress like their dolls can buy a matching, girl-size prayer rug and cotton scarf set, all in pink....
In Damascus, a Fulla doll sells for about $16, in a country where average per capita income hovers around $100 per month. And yet, said Nawal al-Sayeedi, a clerk at the Space Toon toy store in the city's upscale Abou Roumaneh neighborhood, Fulla flies off the shelves...
Not everyone sees Fulla as such a positive influence. Maan Abdul Salam, a Syrian women's rights advocate, said Fulla was emblematic of a trend toward Islamic conservatism sweeping the Middle East. Though statistics are hard to come by, he said, the percentage of young Arab women who wear the hijab is far higher now than it was a decade ago, and though many girls are wearing it by choice, others are being pressured to do so.
"If this doll had come out 10 years ago, I don't think it would have been very popular," he said. "Fulla is part of this great cultural shift. Syria used to be a very secular country," he added, "but when people don't have anything to believe in anymore, they turn toward religion." ...
But Jyza Sybai , a lanky, tomboyish Saudi 10-year-old, visiting Syria with her family for a short vacation, disagreed. "All my friends have Fulla now, but I still like Barbie the best," Jyza said. "She has blond hair and cool clothes. Every single girl in Saudi looks like Fulla, with the dark hair and the black scarf. "What's so special about that?"
posted by BrooklynKat at 11:40 AM
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15 Comments:
They would also work as dolls for muslim boys, who could learn at an early age, what girls are really for. And if their dolls manage to elicit an envious eye from other boys -- well then, they can be beaten, tortured and killed. For honour of course.
And your latest post is about racism. Please don't talk about things you don't know the whole truth about. thanks
Hey Anonymous, the beauty of this country is that we can talk about whatever we want. If you don't like it, get your own blog where you can keep silent instead of having a valid discussion about topics that are of interest to us all. I would like to hear your point of view instead of your usless post. thanks
I liked what you said. Another male dominated barbie push. If its not enough they kill girls at the age of 9 and boys at the age of 12 (Islam discriminates against girls) they bring out some stupid islamic rip off barbie. Muslims steal coca-cola Aka Mecca Cola. They steal bibe aka Koran and now Barbie. These stealing Muslims have no idea what it means to have your own original idea stolen. I hope one days somebody steals something from them, not that they ever make anything. Then again we could steal Prophet Mo-HAM-Heads tomb and destroy it like they did to 9/11. All they prophets were murdered and poisoned. typical of islam.
Did u no that there koran has 6,666 verses??? Satans number. Very evil people... Chuckie
I have never EVER been more shocked by a discussion in my life. It amazes me how incredibly ignorant and hateful people can be about a religion they know absolutely NOTHING valid about..what gives you the right to sit there and say we kill people and all that bs? what the hell do you think your army is doing in Iraq?? hmmm...invading their country, killing their women and children..and for what? oh yeh because you people r always up in everyone else's fucking business! Oh and the comment about "discriminating" against girls...well surprise surprise, im a Muslim girl and guess what? I don't feel discriminated against at all! Infact, I have been treated with nothing but kindness and respect, if anything, we are actually MORE respected as women!
I like that comment about stealing and how us muslims don't make anything at all...hmm who supplies you guys with petrol?
This is way late but cool post thanks. Sad your comment section deteriorated so badly. I really could not understand where those foolish ideas they had come from! That Anonymous person had me giggling pretty hard with those accusations.
SEALATIS
mmmm you make me sick whit some of your comments , Andnt you realized that they have a similar name , the reason of that is that the owners are the same , its just a diferent name to a diferent place , but the people getting richer and richer are the same .
mm Dont be racist , if you didnt know muslmans are one of the most , tolerant religions . Deppending of the place you can find horrible things like everywere .
Dont you renember how did the cristinans killed murdered native people . Whiches
lol what a paine in the as are the religions , they are excuses to actions of people . replay me bye
o i almost forgot usa uses nuclear bomb whit toxic things that make mutations , and stays in the grund for a long time. The wars usa provoces are only for making money , that country is only for making money , do you realy think that they are the police of the world lol lol be real . They are the same as old empires . peace
I ONLY AGREE WHIT YOUR COMMENT ABOUT BARBY IS A COMERCIAL FIGURE THAT BRAIN WASHES GIRLS . tHEY MAKE GIRLS THINK HOW DOES A "PERFECT" GIRLS SHOULD LOOK
nOW bYE
man what is that of aprobals are you afraid of something . are you afraid of realizing the truth about you holy country
that's not what you call stealing. they only patented barbie the sexy girl. plus, everything came from god. one god. Allah. so technically, we Muslims did not steal anything from you people. and you got it wrong, dude, Islam does not discriminate women. that's what the non-muslims did years and years ago, and our beloved prophet Muhammad stopped it. so next time, make sure you check all of your facts first, will you?
proud to be a Muslim.
This story, though over two years old, is still getting some heat. I feel compelled to respond to the last commentator.
Be honest with yourself, you don't think that making a women cover herself up from head to toe is discrimination? And don't give me this crap about how women choose it. If they did choose it it's out of fear, peer pressure, or brain washing. In most Islamic societies, women have no choice. I can't go to Iran on vacation without a headscarf.
Since perhaps the mid-20th century, Islam is at one of its most fundamentalist moments in history. There was a time when Europe was like you are now (we called it the Dark Ages) and you were the enlightened ones. Maybe one day the world will grow a brain and stop oppressing each other over ancient beliefs that no longer apply to modern society.
P.S. I've read the Koran if that means anything to you.
You're very brave to have put your ignorant notions forth.
Perhaps you still don't understand how racism develops? Did you fail your History class?
If you don't know anything about a community's history, values, principles and beliefs, it's best to keep your trap shut.
Just so you know, Islam remains the fastest growing religion. It isn't brain-washing either. The religion makes sense.
And if you've read the Koran, you would know how Islam does not discriminate, nor does it explicitly command women to don the hijab. It encourages modesty and an uncorrupted lifestyle.
The religion has gone somewhat unruly in some countries because it is manipulated by the males that rule the land. Hence, the oppression of women.
You could say the same of any 3rd world or developing country (i.e. Africa, India, China).
In fact, you could say the same of your beloved country. Didn't the Suffragettes fight for equality? Women as the oppressed sex is characteristic of a country not yet developed.
It is NOT characteristic of the religion.
So please, stop bashing it.
Finally, someone has posted a cohesive and thoughtful comment. I apologize if my remarks sound anti-Islamic religion. Whenever you discuss a society in which religion and culture are intemetely intertwined, it is difficult to seperate the two and often any criticism of it sound racist. However that was never my intention. The only purpose of this site it so bring to light what we feel are injustices in our own culture and sometimes in the world.
I believe that you have said exactly what I was trying to say all along.
"The religion has gone somewhat unruly in some countries because it is manipulated by the males that rule the land. Hence, the oppression of women.
You could say the same of any 3rd world or developing country (i.e. Africa, India, China)." - Yes, and Yes!
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