Region | Iran
Iran takes new shot at Barbie, calling US doll 'destructive'
A top Iranian judiciary official warned on Monday against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys.
- AP
- Published: 09:57 April 29, 2008
- Iranian shopkeeper Hamid Reza Delband displays American Barbie dolls at his shop, in Tehran, Iran.
- Image Credit: AP
Tehran: A top Iranian judiciary official warned on Monday against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys.
In the latest barrage in a more than decade-old government campaign against Barbie, Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi said in an official letter to Vice President Parviz Davoudi that the doll and other Western toys are a "danger" that need to be stopped.
The letter said "The irregular importation of such toys, which unfortunately arrive through unofficial sources and smuggling, is destructive culturally and a social danger."
Iranian markets have been inundated with smuggled Western toys in recent years partly due to a dramatic rise in purchasing power as a result of increased oil revenues.
While importing the toys is not necessarily illegal, it is discouraged by a government that seeks to protect Iranians from what it calls the negative effects of Western culture.
Najafabadi said the increasing visibility of Western dolls has alarmed authorities and they are considering intervening.
His letter said, "The displays of personalities such as Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter ... as well as the irregular importation of unsanctioned computer games and movies are all warning bells to the officials in the cultural arena."
Najafabadi said Iran is the world's third biggest importer of toys and warned that smuggled imports pose a threat to the "identity" of the new generation.
"Undoubtedly, the personality and identity of the new generation and our children, as a result of unrestricted importation of toys, has been put at risk and caused irreparable damages," he said.
Mattel Inc., the maker of Barbie, had no immediate comment on the Iranian letter.
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