Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad made history in 2016, when she became the first member of the U.S. Olympic team to compete in hijab. Now she’s making history again by teaming up with Mattel to create a Barbie designed after her. But this is more than a special-edition doll: It’s the first-ever Barbie to wear a hijab, which makes it a crucial win for inclusivity and representation.
After visiting the Mattel factory to weigh in on the design process, Muhammad saw her doll for the first time at the Glamour Women of the Year Summit 2017. Ashley Graham, who debuted her own Barbie at last year’s Women of the Year Summit, helped introduce the new doll...and the whole exchange gave us a lot of feelings.
Muhammad’s face lit up when she saw her Barbie replica, identical to her down to the fencing uniform and white hijab. “I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m so excited!” she exclaimed. “Perfect hijab moment right here—this is amazing.”
Muhammad turned serious, remembering her childhood experiences playing with Barbie—and how she wished for one that looked like her. “I played with Barbie for a long time, what some people may call an uncomfortably long time,” she joked. But in those early days, Muhammad didn’t have Barbies that wore a headscarf, so she would sew on her own hijabs with her sisters. Now that Mattel has made a doll for girls like her, Muhammad knows it will make a difference: “I hope that little girls of color across the heartland will be inspired to embrace what makes them unique,” she said of girls who will play with this Barbie.
While presenting Muhammad with her Barbie, Graham reiterated the importance of this new doll: Muhammad’s Barbie gives more little girls a doll in their likeness. “Barbie is every kind of woman now, and that’s why it’s so exciting to be a part of this journey with Barbie,” she said to Muhammad. "[Y]ou embrace what makes you different, what makes you stand out. And that’s what Mattel wants—they want women who are championing their differences,” Graham said.
There’s a short wait until the Barbie wearing a hijab will become available in 2018. But that wait is worth it for the all girls who will finally see themselves represented in Mattel’s famous toy—just ask Muhammad. “When I think about my own journey, me being a Muslim girl involved in the sport of fencing, there were people who made me feel like I didn’t belong,” she said on her visit to the Mattel factory. “For all those people who didn’t believe in me, this Barbie doll is for you.”