Iran Bans “American Symbol” By Cracking Down On Barbie Doll Sales

With the United States placing sanction in Iran on everything from the countries central banking system to the export of oil from the country officials in Iran have decided to fight back by attacking a symbol of American commerce, Mattel’s Barbie Doll collection.

In 1996 officials in the country placed a ban on Barbie dolls and now with the country at odds with the United States the country’s morality police have been enforcing the ban because of the doll’s “destructive cultural and social consequences.”

According to Reuters Barbie dolls remained stocked on Tehran shops after the ban was enacted but over the last three weeks have been removed. According to one store owner the “morality police came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies.”

In an attempt to continue selling the American dolls some shop owners have simply tucked them behind other toys rather then removing them as demand continues to rise with a ban being carefully monitored.

In 2002 the Iranian government approved two dolls named “Sara” and “Dara” but they have failed to catch on. According to one Iranian mother her daughter doesn’t like the government dollars because they are ” ugly and fat.”

In the meantime Iran’s government is attempting to sell more violent toys like a replica of the mini RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone (pictured above with Barbie), a U.S. spy plane that went down in Iran last month. The drone will come in at a cost of $4.

Barbie has been receiving a lot of press this week, you may recall that a Facebook page was setup to support Mattel’s creation of a bald Barbie for girls who may have lost their hair to cancer or other illnesses.

Do you think the Iranian band on Barbie Dolls is a bit silly given the real problems the country is currently facing?