Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is getting her own Barbie
Barbie's newest "Shero" is Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad.
Muhammad made history in 2016 as the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab, and now she's breaking barriers again as the first hijab-wearing Barbie doll.
The announcement was made at Glamour's "Woman of the Year" summit, where last year's "Shero" Ashley Graham presented Muhammad with the new doll, according to a press release from Barbie.
Muhammad tweeted that it was a "childhood dream come true" to have a Barbie made in her image.
Muhammad got to tour the Mattel factory to see how her Barbie doll is made.
She said she was never able to find dolls that looked like her when she was growing up.
"This is such a big moment, not just for me, but for little girls everywhere," Muhammad explained to Glamour.
In addition to her hijab, Muhammad's doll is decked out in full fencing attire- from protective mask to athletic shoes, celebrating the Olympic athlete's inspiring physical achievements.
It hasn't been easy for Muhammad to get to where she is today. She told Glamour that some people in the fencing world made her feel like she didn't belong. The accomplished athlete even had a hard time registering for SXSW when one volunteer insisted that she remove her hijab for her ID photo.
Barbie hopes to embrace Muhammad's differences with its new doll.
"Barbie is celebrating Ibtihaj not only for her accolades as an Olympian, but for embracing what makes her stand out," Vice President of Global Marketing Sejal Shah Miller explained in the company's press release. "Ibtihaj is an inspiration to countless girls who never saw themselves represented, and by honoring her story we hope this doll reminds them that they can be and do anything."
As a Barbie "Shero," Muhammad joins the ranks of Gabby Douglas, Ava DuVernay, and Misty Copeland, among many other accomplished women, who have all been honored with Barbie dolls of their own.
The doll will go on sale to the public in 2018.
Topics Olympics Celebrities
Alison Main is an intern with Real Time. She is originally from St. Louis, but she currently lives in Los Angeles, where she studies Broadcast and Digital Journalism at the University of Southern California. Alison has previously interned at CNN, both with "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" and with the New York news bureau. The highlight of her journalism career (so far) was serving as political director for USC Annenberg Media during the 2016 election season.
