Fulla's Jeddah Dream House

Meet Fulla.

Fulla is like any average modern Muslim girl. She dresses in her traditional abaya overdress that protects her modesty from evil elements (Yes, boys…you are evil elements…get over it.). Fulla likes to bake cakes and read. Everyday, she takes her pink prayer rug before sunrise and devotes time to her faith.

Did I mention Fulla is 11-inches tall?

Meet the Muslim world’s answer to the Western world’s Barbie doll. In the last two years, Syrian created, Chinese manufactured Fulla has been all the rage in the Middle East. Created by entrepreneur Manar Tarabichi, the doll has come to fill a void created by the blond, blue-eyed bombshell and career juggernaut that is Barbie. According to a Chicago Sun-Times article dated October 30, 2005, “With black hair, auburn eyes and a wide selection of head scarves, she's Mecca to Barbie's Malibu.” And moreover, Fulla is designed to represent the ideals of a culture and religion that finds itself increasingly on the defensive these days.

The common consensus about Fulla’s popularity is the fact that she looks like, acts like, and believes in the same things that little Muslim girls aspire to. The Sun-Times article quotes one store owner, Mohammed Sabbagh, regarding Fulla’s selling power. "Fulla is one of us. She's my sister, she's my mother, she's my wife. She's all the traditional things of Syria and the Middle East. Barbie, to us, is a foreigner,"

This is all well and good. For years Western culture has sought to embrace different ethnicities and cultures. But, with the a business brand manager and associated products such as cereal, bubble gum, backpacks, and scarf sets I can’t help but ask the question:

Doesn’t the make Fulla EXACTLY like that infidel Barbie?

And furthermore, does Fulla not bring up the same kinds of problematic issues in Muslim culture as her Western counterpart? Here in the States, Barbie has long been a symbol of the feminist divide. On one side, you have those who believe that Barbie’s countless careers (Astronaut, teacher, and rock n’ roll star to name a few) make her a strong role model for American girls. Opposite of that, there are those who point out that Barbie’s impossibly perfect features and fashionista ways perpetuate the ideal that women are nothing but playthings to a male dominated world.

Granted, while Fulla and her gaggle of girl pals (Fulla currently does not have any male friends, but might have a protective brother in the near future) probably don’t ever have to worry about which designer is going to create their special edition head scarf, they are still marketed to be symbols of what someone out there thinks what a good Muslim girl should be.

Let’s repeat that, okay? Fulla is what many believe a Muslim girl should be. Not as an option. Not what she might become. What she will and always should be.

If the company that markets Fulla created her to combat Barbie, they seem to have tripped into the same pitfalls they claim make Barbie not an ideal role model for their girls. Instead of being something that should bring imagination and delight to the girls they wish to reach out to, her creators have marketed her to fit into a certain box. Brand supervisor Fawaz Abidin states that they created Fulla commericals “designed to convey Fulla’s values.”

Fulla, as it seems, is the Muslim world’s yes-girl. Much like Barbie can be taken as a symbol of conformity in our lives, Fulla’s handlers seek to push traditional ideals into a world that already misinterprets their faith’s rules and restricts half of their population. As the September-October edition of Utne said regarding Fulla, “She’s a plaything, yes, but she’s also an emblem of the cultural pressure to conform to one extremely limiting female role."

So, is Fulla the answer for a strong, female, Muslim role model? The answer to that question really depends on what the true purpose of the doll’s creation. If Fulla is a matter of cultural pride, created to assist Muslim girl’s celebrate their culture – then yes – she’s a wonderful role model. If the intention is the far more sinister reason of pushing girls into certain cultural boxes – then the creators of Fulla are just as bad as Western toymakers.

Regardless of the issues that Fulla and Barbie bring up in their respective cultures, we do have to remember one thing: It takes more than a doll to create strong generations of women. If we stop relying on outside influences and actually concentrate on connecting with younger generations, we probably wouldn’t have these stupid arguments of what dolls stand for.

They’re toys. Let’s try and keep it that way!