The woman behind the first Barbie doll with a hijab is in town.
You remember Ibtihaj Muhammad. She’s the first athlete to represent the USA at the Olympic Games while wearing a hijab, and in November, she was the model for the first hijabi Barbie.
That’s not even mentioning the fact that she won a bronze medal in as part of Team Sabre (Muhammad is a fencer) at those same Olympics.
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She’s a pretty impressive woman, is what we’re saying, and right now, Muhammad is spending a little time in the UAE.
If Instagram is anything to go by, she’s having an absolute ball, too.
Muhammad is joined by her sister, who’s just turned 26, and at least one other friend, as the above adorable Boomerang shows.
(We need to know what that red lip is, by the way.)
How gorgeous is this photo? It’s not a visit to the UAE if you don’t pop out to the desert, and Muhammad’s shot is one of the nicest we’ve seen.
We’re also huge fans of the Drake reference in her caption. Stars: they’re just like us.
Another must-do while in our part of the world? Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (which just turned 10, by the way). Beautiful shot.
When Muhammad’s Barbie was released as part of the brand’s Shero line, the fencer said she was “over the moon,” telling People she wanted the doll to represent her body as well as her religious attire.
“I know that as an athlete I have larger legs — these strong legs that we use, especially fencers, to propel ourselves into lunges — and it was important for me to have my doll be as close to my likeness as possible,” she told People. “So I wanted to have athletic toned legs for sure.”
Also a key element? Muhammad’s signature makeup look.
“I’m also really big to into eyeliner. I like to think of my eyeliner as a shield of power; I not only wear it to the grocery store but I also wear it to compete,” she continued to the magazine. “I wore it to the Olympic games, so I wanted my Barbie to have the perfect winged liner and also to wear a hijab.”
Images: Instagram
