Hijab-wearing Barbie causes controversy on Twitter

Debuted yesterday at Glamour’s 2017 Women of the Year Summit, the first hijab-wearing Barbie doll stirred up the people on Twitter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbcW30QD8Q7/?taken-by=barbie

Modelled after Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim-American woman to compete in hijab at the Olympics, the progressive Barbie is part of annual “Shero” line. The collection celebrates inspiring females who challenge the status quo and infused other women the courage to do the same.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbce3H-BvfW/?taken-by=ibtihajmuhammad

The Mattel’s attempt to design a more inclusive and representative Barbie doll set the Twitter on fire. For some, the revolutionary initiative was just about to happen.

https://twitter.com/MuslimIQ/status/930263900662136832

https://twitter.com/jhaubner2/status/930106222463848448

https://twitter.com/2018MusicFacts/status/930564614206771206

Other people accused the brand of endorsing the oppression of women.

https://twitter.com/Ak_Ashii/status/930435499604393984

https://twitter.com/LWilsonDarlene/status/930522839811264514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthevoiceoflondon.co.uk%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D18614%26action%3Dedit

https://twitter.com/Fector/status/930447025346265088

https://twitter.com/We_R_TheMedia/status/930484382439223296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthevoiceoflondon.co.uk%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D18614%26action%3Dedit

And there were quite a few people, who met the new Barbie doll with ironic comments.

https://twitter.com/KimWelzenbach/status/930450683181936641

https://twitter.com/USAsymbols/status/930196630179020805

https://twitter.com/ash19898989/status/930178732035395584

https://twitter.com/meganchopkins/status/930515840310661120

https://twitter.com/Harry1T6/status/930498455310622721

https://twitter.com/skwogler/status/930176875854315520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthevoiceoflondon.co.uk%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D18614%26action%3Dedit

However, whatever the feedback, the hijab-wearing doll is set to be released in 2018.

Words: Madalina Corjuc | Subbing: Omar Balde

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