Barbie is not welcome in Iran. Too slutty and wanton.
Barbie dolls and other western toys will lead to "destructive and cultural consequences" for Iran, the country's leading prosecutor wrote in a letter to the Iranian vice-president, published in the Mardom Salari newspaper. "The appearance of personalities such as Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter and ... computer games and movies are all a danger " A toy seller Masoumeh Rahimi adds that Barbie in particular is "foreign to
Iran's culture" , wanton, and " more harmful than an American missile". Luckily she sells Islamic equivalents to Barbie & Ken - Sara and Dara. Here they are.
Sara's too young for a headscarf but one is supplied in case she hits puberty in the toybox overnight (possibly by lying next to Buzz LIghtyear).
Meanwhile, by the way, Morocco has started training women as imams, for the first time: though they won't actually lead prayers , the hope is they will promote a more moderate version of Islam. Which raises the tantalizing possibility that one day we might see Imam Barbie. But whatever creeds future Barbie embraces in our increasingly touchy global religious scene, they are really going to have to do something about those non-bendable knees.

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