Fulla Doll

Barbie is slowing disappearing from the shelves of toy stores in the Middle East, and in her place is Fulla, a dark-eyed doll with "Muslim values." Fulla roughly shares Barbie’s size and proportions but is wearing a black abaya and matching head scarf, instead of a mini skirt and belly top.
NewBoy Design Studio, based in Syria, introduced her in November 2003, and she has quickly become a best seller all over the region. Young girls in the Middle East are obsessed with Fulla! And conservative parents who would not dream of buying a Barbie for their daughters are happy to pay for a modest doll who even has her own tiny prayer rug (which also comes in a girl-size version).
In Damascus, a Fulla doll sells for about $16, in a country where average per capita income is around $1000 per month. And yet, said Nawal al-Sayeedi, a clerk at the Space Toon toy store in the city’s upscale Abou Roumaneh neighborhood, Fulla flies off the shelves. This simply shows how popular and in demand these dolls are.
"This isn’t just about putting a hijab on a Barbie doll," says Fawaz Abidin, the Fulla brand manager for NewBoy. "You have to create a character that parents and children will want to relate to. Our advertising is full of positive messages about Fulla’s character. She’s honest, loving and caring, and she respects her father and mother."
Fulla, however, will never have a boyfriend doll like Barbie’s Ken. But being introduced soon is a Doctor Fulla and a Teacher Fulla. "These are two respected careers for woman that we would like to encourage small girls to follow," Mr. Abidin said.
I personally think Fulla is an excellent idea, and why stop there? Every culture should have their own doll, like we North Americans have Barbie. Each culture’s doll can hold their same values and dress the way they would.

A Fulla doll commercial; she even has her own theme song!

Works Cited:
Zoepf, Katherine. "Bestseller in Mideast: Barbie WIth a Prayer Mat." Damascuz Journal. 2005. 16 Jan. 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/international/middleeast/22doll.html