The Iranian War On Barbie

C’mon Barbie, let’s go Farsi.

Iran’s morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday.

As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear program, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a “soft war” against decadent cultural influences.

“About three weeks ago the morality police came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies,” said a shopkeeper in a toy store in northern Tehran.

Sara and Dara, dolls that have been officially sanctioned for sale by the Iranian government. Iran’s religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its “destructive cultural and social consequences.”

Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops.

The new order, issued about three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police.

A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told Reuters.

The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male, arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes.

“My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat,” said Farnaz, a 38-year-old mother, adding that she could not find Barbie cartoon DVDs because she was told they were also banned from public sale.

If I was Ken, I’d be getting really worried right about now.

Update: This has been going on for a while. Here’s a video from 2008.

Update: If there was evidence Ahmadinejad was behind this, I’d title this post “Iranian Shrimp on The Barbie.”

12 thoughts on “The Iranian War On Barbie”

  1. Now that Barbie now comes with tatoos, does this mean that Barbie cannot now be buried in Jewish Barbie Dream Cemetery?

      1. How many Barbie dolls do you have in your collection? Apparently none since the mid-90’s. Of course Barbie now has tatoos. And wouldn’t Jewish girls project their own faith onto Barbie? Of course they would. I’ve always assumed Barbie was born Jewish and gone through intensive Goyimization. Your Barbies can be observant, Torah-believing dolls if you like. That’s the great thing about Barbie. Come to your senses and broaden your mind, Shy Guy.

          1. Oh, I was under the impression that Jews with tatoos could not be buried in Jewish cemeteries. So you are saying that this is not true for all Jews? Well apart from the verbal abuse you dish out, I can benefit from having a conversation with you, after all. So if I decided to get a tatto of, say, Aussie Dave’s avatar, convert to Judaism, and commit to an observant Jewish life, I could then still be buried in a Jewish cemetery, even in Israel? Now there’s something to look forward to.

  2. I endorse Iranian bigotry and ignorance. Anything they can do to help unwind the social and intellectual clock a little more each day is appreciated. If Iranian barbie is their role model for the burqa, polygamy, illiteracy, wife beating and sexual violence, fine by me. There’s nothing like throwing away half your own population to ensure the success of your endeavor. Carry on, Ayatollahs!

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