Iran shuts down shops selling Barbie dolls

What's interesting about this story is that Barbie is seen as empowering girls to be more independent and less governed by what society tells them to do.

Here, in North America, Barbie dolls are sometimes cited as poor role models and seen as imposing subservient stereotypes on girls.

I suppose it's all a matter of where you are -- in Iran Barbie represents a step forward:

http://bit.ly/yQFaIm

TEHRAN, IRAN — Police have closed down dozens of toy shop for selling Barbie dolls, part of a decades-long crackdown on signs of Western culture in Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Friday.
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Barbie dolls are 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.
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Authorities launched a campaign of confiscating Barbie dolls from toy shops in 2002, denouncing what they called the un-Islamic characteristics of the uniquely American doll. The campaign was eventually dropped.

Also in 2002, Iran introduced its own competing dolls — twins Dara and Sara — who were designed to promote traditional values with modest clothing and pro-family stories. But the dolls proved unable to stem the Barbie tide.