A girl with a Barbie knapsack in Iran, 2007. Photo by Cordelia Person.
The morals police in Iran are chasing Barbie again.
I have a hunch this is a regular story that may crop up when people need it. Or maybe it's the morals police that crop up persecuting Barbie when they need to.
Apparently, merchants still keep trying to sell this evil Western toxin, and hide the doll under the counters, says Die Standard.
Barbie has some Islamic competitors in Iran, says the daily -- Sara and Dara, who wear headscarves.
Suddenly, I remembered a day in Baku, hours before a plane was to depart, in a large department store.
I had to find my daughter some sort of durable souvenir -- the others I had bought at the market or hotel were too fragile. I cast around and I saw a Western-style Barbie -- well, it would have to do. I peered closer, and it turned out this knock-off Barbie in a bright yellow dress was also knocked-up, with a tiny little baby doll inside her tummy. Perfect!
I couldn't help thinking that the morals squad in my neighbourhood would have removed a scandalous dolly like this, especially with no visible Ken in evidence. My daughter happily played with the pair for ages -- because I rarely bought her the Barbies or their clothes. They were so inflexible and so expensive.
