Ibtihaj Muhammad made history at the 2016 Rio games when the professional fencer became the first U.S. Olympian to wear a hijab during her match, eventually winning a bronze medal.
On Monday, Mattel released an image of Muhammad holding the doll made in her image, including a white fencing outfit and a matching hijab.
Muhammad revealed the Barbie to a crowd of supporter’s during Glamour’s Women of The Year award ceremony on Monday night. “When I think about my own journey, me being a Muslim girl involved in the sport of fencing, there were people who made me feel like I didn’t belong,”she said during the unveiling. “For all those people who didn’t believe in me, this Barbie doll is for you.”
The doll will be available for purchase online next fall and is the newest Barbie in their Shero’ collection, which previously included filmmaker Ava DuVernay and gymnast Gabby Douglas.
“I’m proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true,” Muhammad wrote on her official Twitter account.
Kudos to Barbie for continuing to expand the narrative on what it means to be beautiful.
SOURCE: USA Today
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