Iran Cracks Down on Barbie Dolls

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Monday, January 23, 2012

Iran cracks down on Barbie dolls, in what appears to be an amplified move by authorities to curb the spread of American values and culture in the Islamic Republic.

Iranian police have taken to the streets of the capital of Tehran to confiscate the dolls and have shut down dozens of toyshops for selling them, according to the semi-officials Mehr news agency.

The American dolls, created by American toy manufacturer Mattel in 1959, are considered by conservative leaders to be "manifestations of Western culture," Mehr reported.

On Friday the news agency quoted a police official that said that a "new phase" had been undertaken by Iranian authorities to limit displays of Western culture and curb Western influence in Iranian society. Confiscating Barbie dolls appears to be part of the new crackdown.

Iranian religious leaders banned the sale of Barbie dolls back in 1996, but it appears that the ban is only now beginning to become strictly enforced, as the doll has been sold openly in shops across Tehran for decades.

In 2002, a government-induced campaign to confiscate the "un-Islamic" dolls began, but the campaign ultimately failed.

In the same year, Iran attempted to introduce its own version of Barbie dolls donned in conservative dress, but the dolls failed to take off and Iranian leaders were unable to curb societal interest in the American doll.

The intensified enforcement of the Barbie ban comes as relations between Iran and the West have become increasingly strained due to a recent U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency report that implicates Iran in building a nuclear bomb.

Iran has vehemently denied the allegations in the report and claims that its nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes, but Western countries have responded to the new allegations by applying heavy and economically straining sanctions on the country.