Ever Seen Barbie Wear a Hijab? Meet “Hijarbie”

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In 2016, Haneefa Adam rose to prominence with her incredibly creative food art – which she used as an entry for the Samsung Tech Meets Art competition.

It was only last month that Mattel gave Barbie a dramatic transformation with a variety of skin tones and different body types, including adding curves to her impossibly slender frame.

Now a Nigerian medical scientist has taken Instagram by storm since she began posting images of a hijab-wearing Barbie doll which she tagged as ‘ Hijarbie’ a few weeks ago. We are used to seeing Barbie scantily-clad in denim hotpants and skimpy tops, but with her colorful headscarves, flowing abayas and full-length couture dresses, Hijarbie is far more covered up.

In a chat with CNN’s African Voices, Haneefa talks about her life in Ilorin, and the inspiration behind “Hijarbie,” her newest artistic project. When asked what inspired her project. She said:

“I was inspired to create the Hijarbie account after coming across the Barbie Style Instagram page. I thought I had not seen Barbie dressed in a hijab before so I decided to open an Instagram account and dressed Barbie up in the clothes that I made. I thought it was really important for a doll to be dressed like how I would be.”

Haneefah’s art incorporates her cultural, style and religious inclinations, and this is evident in her quest to shed positive light on Islam. The 24-year-old, who recently completed a Master’s in Pharmacology in the UK, describes Hijarbie as a “modest doll” — one that offers Muslim girls a relatable role model.

She said:

“It has roots in my religion and cultural identity. The way Barbie dresses is very skimpy and different and there’s nothing wrong with it. I just wanted to give another option for Muslim girls like me. I want to use the Instagram page to create an identity for her similar to Barbie.”

The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive with requests from all over the world to buy the dolls. Hijarbie now has 19,400 followers on the social network. Adam plans to expand her account to include dolls of color. Previously she was unable to locate any on sale in Nigeria and has had to order them from abroad.

“I couldn’t find the different types in Nigeria (no Amazon or eBay or anything), I’d have loved to dress up a black doll myself too. I’ve ordered for some internationally and they’ll soon be here,” she said.

But despite the account’s popularity, Adam says she has received some negative comments from people who think that Muslim women who wear the veil are ‘oppressed’ a misconception she wants to fix.

“People think that when Muslim women cover up they are forced to. The ‘majority‘ of us are not. We want to cover up and express our religion. But a lot of Muslims don’t cover their hair and it doesn’t make them any less of a Muslim. I think this is a great platform to try and get the Muslim identity to the world and correct some misconceptions.”

She mentioned how she was able to express her self through social media and how it helped her educate people about her religion.

It is interesting to know that we can have Barbie dolls in all shapes, sizes, and forms. This is a new age of Barbie – an age that defies so-called established standards of beauty, and calls for acceptance and tolerance for all cultures, races, and religions. The ‘Hijarbie’ exemplifies this.

Click on CNN’s African Voices to watch full video of her interview as she speaks about the ‘Hijarbie’ Project.

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Photo Credit: Instagram