U.S. Olympic athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad behind first hijab wearing Barbie

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first-ever hijab wearing woman to compete for the U.S. in the 2016 Rio Olympic games, now she has a Barbie of her own.

This Barbie is the first of its kind to be wearing a hijab in the 58 years that it has existed.

According to PeopleStyle, Muhammad’s Barbie was unveiled at Glamour’s Women of the Year Live Summit, and is the latest in the Barbie’s “Shero” line, celebrating women who inspire the next generation.

“I’m excited to just partner with a brand that I know honors powerful women who are breaking barriers and whose sole goal is to impact the future leaders of tomorrow. To be included in this conversation is very humbling and I’m over the moon about this whole thing,” Muhammad told PeopleStyle.

Muhammad worked with Mattel every step of the way in the design process to make sure that the doll resembled her.

“It’s so cool to see myself in this little doll form with my fencing uniform on. It says my name on the back and it has a fencing mask and the little sabre. I just love it,” she told PeopleStyle adding that she wanted her Barbie to wear a hijab.

“I think its revolutionary for Barbie to take a stand in this moment that we’re in – and I would say, as a country, to have a doll wear a hijab and be the first of its kind. There has never been a Barbie doll to wear a hijab before. I’m really excited to have this moment happen in my life and also for all these little girls now who can shop for Barbie doll that may look them, may wear a hijab like they do, or like their mom does, or like a friend does. But also have kids who aren’t Muslim, who don’t wear a hijab, to also have the opportunity to play with a doll that wears a hijab,” she explained, hoping that this is just the start to a more diverse representation.

“I think it would be cool to have Malala have a Barbie doll… her story line in general would be great to teach our kids today. I’m going to tell Mattel to streamline that. I’ll be the agent on that,” Muhammad added.