Last month, Mattel announced that Barbie would be available in three new body types – petite, tall and curvy – 7 skin tones, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, and even a flat foot to reflect the world girls see around them, to represent diversity on every scale. However, a 24-year-old blogger and medical scientist from Nigeria, was not impressed with the so-called radical makeover of the famous doll – so she created Hijarbie, a hijab-wearing Barbie, as stylish and fabulous as the Barbie.
Meet The First Hijab-Wearing BarbieThis revolutionary Barbie wears a hijab
Posted by NowThis on Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Haneefah skillfully hand sews every one of Hijarbie’s hijabs and abayas to ensure the perfect fit. Each outfit takes her one to three hours to design, style, and photograph on the doll. she told Buzzfeed:
“I want to inspire the Muslim girl. It’s about having a doll that looks like her, that represents her own cultural and religious background. At the end of the day, it will create a sense of value and will be inspiring them to be more confident, more driven, to believe more in themselves which leads to an appreciation of herself and her modest lifestyle and upbringing. Hijab means modesty to me and it’s my unique identity. It’s my crown and it represents my own personal control over the way I want to be seen. Not leaving out the fact that it’s a religious induction.”
Although Haneefah started the Instagram account as an avenue to make modest outfits for dolls, with Hijarbie she wanted to create a sense of value for Muslim girls. She told Al Jazeera:
“I think the most important thing to have as a Muslim or a non-Muslim is a very good character. The hijab is actually more about modesty than fashion but who says you can’t incorporate both together? Fashion with faith. A lot of people have adopted [the veil] now because they know they can be fashionable without actually compromising their faith. There a lot of concepts to still explore on the page, and I can’t wait to have fun with it.”
Heading to an award show somewhere ???#hijarbiestyle
A photo posted by Mini Hijab Fashion! (@hijarbie) on
Haneefah says she has created “toys that look like you, which, at the end of the day, leads to better self-esteem”. She told CNN:
“I thought I had not seen Barbie dressed in a hijab before so I decided to open an Instagram account and dressed Barbie up in the clothes that I made. I thought it was really important for a doll to be dressed like how I would be.”
A photo posted by Mini Hijab Fashion! (@hijarbie) on
As of now, there is only one Hijarbire – and she’s white. But Haneefah plans to eventually expand her account to include dolls of color.
“I couldn’t find the different types in Nigeria (no Amazon or eBay or anything. I’d have loved to dress up a black doll myself too. I’ve ordered for some internationally and they’ll soon be here.”
‘Hijarbie’ gives doll modest Muslim makeover https://t.co/YGVOVTYymv
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) February 17, 2016
Move over new petite, tall and curvy Barbies — and make way for Hijarbie: https://t.co/GAGklDUsNg pic.twitter.com/cRGzauUS3H
— Women in the World (@WomenintheWorld) February 17, 2016
@hijarbiefashion Great initiative! A doll-sized but important step toward a more real outlook of the world for kids around the globe.
— Stefan Sonnerhed (@StefanSonnerhed) February 14, 2016
@hijarbiefashion Instagram is so awesome!! My 4-y/o was like “Wow!” Check it out https://t.co/jVX55wf6R9 #Fashion #Hijabi #HijarbieStyle
— Aisha (Nakeyisha) H (@Blurosepixels) February 6, 2016
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