Meet the world's first hijab-wearing Barbie doll

  • 14/11/2017
Ibtihaj Muhammad and her newly launched Barbie doll
Ibtihaj Muhammad and her newly launched Barbie doll. Photo credit: Getty

The first hijab-wearing Barbie has been unveiled. 

The newest doll in the Barbie family was inspired by Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who made history in 2016 when she became the first member of the US Olympic team to compete in a hijab.

She was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential people in 2016.

The new Barbie's outfit was modelled on Muhammad's fencing uniform, complete with helmet and tiny sabre. 

Glamour reports that Muhammad saw her doll for the first time at the Glamour Women of the Year Summit on the weekend. 

 "Thank you [Mattel] for announcing me as the newest member of the Barbie #Shero family!" Muhammad tweeted on Monday (local time). 

"I'm proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true #shero." 

"Ibtihaj Muhammad has challenged every stereotype - which to me is the definition of a modern American woman," Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive said in a statement. 

"Ibtihaj is an inspiration to countless girls who never saw themselves represented, and by honouring her story, we hope this doll reminds them that they can be and do anything," Sejal Shah Miller, Barbie's vice president of global marketing also said.

It's not the first venture into a more diverse Barbie doll Mattel has taken. The doll is now available in multiple body types, after Mattel rolled out tall, petite and curvy versions of the dolls in 2016, as well as seven different skin tones. 

Newshub.