A top Iranian judiciary official warned Monday against the "destructive"Swiped from Right Wing News
cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western
toys.
Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi said in an official
letter to Vice President Parviz Davoudi that the Western toys was a "danger"
that needed to be stopped.
"The irregular importation of such toys, which
unfortunately arrive through unofficial sources and smuggling, is destructive
culturally and a social danger," Najafabadi said in his letter, a copy of which
was made available to The Associated Press.
... Najafabadi said Iran was the
world's third biggest importer of toys, and these smuggled imports posed a
threat to the "identity" of the new generation.
"Undoubtedly, the
personality and identity of the new generation and our children, as a result of
unrestricted importation of toys, has been put at risk and caused irreparable
damages," he said.
Authorities launched a temporary campaign of confiscating
Barbie from toy stores in 2002, denouncing the un-Islamic sensibilities of the
iconic American doll. The campaign was eventually discontinued.
That same
year, though, Iran introduced a competing doll—the twins Dara and Sara, who
promoted traditional values with their modest clothing and pro-family stories
but they proved unable to stem the Barbie tide.
In 1996, the head of a
government-backed children's agency called Barbie a "Trojan horse" sneaking in
Western influences such as makeup and revealing clothes.
Barbie is sold
wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear head scarves
in public and men and women are not allowed to swim together.
I raised two daughters in the “decadent” Western culture of Indiana. They received Barbie dolls for birthdays and Christmas. Never did I consider Barbie to be undermining their morality!
They also received Care Bears and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I didn’t expect those to be corrupting, either.
I carefully raised my daughters to think for themselves instead of following the herd. Neither is fashionable or trendy. They don’t waste time worrying about their appearance beyond what they like and boundaries of good taste.
Neither are they overly violent or overly cutsie. One is an aspiring musician/music producer and the other designs web pages and does custom sewing. Both are independent thinkers. Neither was damaged by any images of Barbie and her extensive wardrobe.
With all the poverty and other real social problems available that need solving in their culture, the Iranians instead choose to inveigh against poor, ole, much-maligned Barbie?!?
Oh, well. As long as they’re wasting their time on such nonsense, they won’t have time to think any new ways of killing each other and us!
