The Iranian school year is about to begin (September 21), and the country's children will soon be sitting down at their desks to begin their studies. And just like children elsewhere around the world, the Iranian youngsters, too, have to decide which characters and cultural heroes will adorn their school bags, notebooks and pencil cases. In the behind-the-scenes battle of the cultures between Iran and the West, it appears that insofar as the popularity of the Western and "less modest" Barbie dolls is concerned, the West has the upper hand. A significant portion of the young Iranian schoolgirls who are ready to begin their studies next week have opted for the Western-version Barbie over the "modest" and traditionally-Iranian dressed alternative, Sara; while the covers of school notebooks also feature popular, Western "cultural heroes" such as Shrek, Mickey Mouse, Spiderman and Ratatouille.
In the past, Iran conducted an aggressive campaign against the Barbie dolls and the male character alongside them, Ken, producing a corresponding line of dolls – Sara (Barbie) and Dara (Ken), who were meticulously clothed from head to toe in keeping with the strict Iranian dress code. However, it appears that the young girls of Iran are not very taken with "the local product" and still prefer Barbie and her rich wardrobe, which includes summer bathing suits and more permissive and revealing clothing. Iranian participants in web forums even proposed manufacturing dolls and toys with the names of Islamic figures; for example, Zeynab, the daughter of Ali and granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad; and Fatima Al-Zahraa, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad from his wife, Khadija.
The conservative Iranian campaign against Barbie and the American comics heroes constitutes part of a widespread Iranian effort, which has intensified since the election of Ahmadi-Nejad as president, to reinstate the most stringent Islamic codes. As part of this effort, authorities are arresting Iranian youths boasting inappropriate hairstyles and clothing; they are also conducting random searches of the shopping bags of Iranian women, closing down billiard clubs and imposing restrictions on spending time and smoking hookah pipes at coffee bars.
The Barbie assault
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The Conservative-affiliated Javan daily complained this week that the school bags and books fairs around the country have been "conquered" by China; "and worst of all," the newspaper writes, it is impossible to find school bags that are not adorned with the pictures of Barbie, Mickey Mouse or other Western symbols. The writer of the article also bemoans the fact that despite the huge budgets at their disposal, Iran's various cultural bodies – the Cultural Revolution Supreme Council, the Public Culture Council, the Islamic Propaganda Organisation and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, for example – have not done enough to block the Western cultural symbols.
As a result, the article charges, the Iranian markets for school supplies are flooded with Western goods, leaving parents with no choice but to purchase them; and the children, for their part, then have to carry around these symbols of Western materialism on their backs and in their hands.
As a mouthpiece for the Conservative stream in Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, whose volunteer arm, the Basij, is responsible (together with other authorities) for enforcing the Islamic dress code, Javan calls on "the defenders of the walls" of Iranian culture to go out to the markets and stores to closely monitor the phenomenon, crying out: "What is the good of all the fancy and ostentatious buildings, inflated budgets and glaring headlines if we cannot prevent the infiltration of cultural symbols that do not fall in line with the local culture and our religious beliefs?"
The newspaper continues to throw barbs, claiming that in light of the neglect on the part of those who are responsible for guarding the local culture, the children are being exposed to Western symbols at an early age and are getting used to them, making it more difficult to rid them of such habits at a later stage. And what does the daily suggest? According to Javan, such school bags, shoes, pencils, notebooks and the like should be declared dangerous propaganda and should be slapped with an import ban, adding in conclusion: "Regrettably and painfully, Western propaganda is gaining momentum from day to day, and it is spreading throughout Iran, targeting our children."
Dangerous exposure
Several months ago, Iranian Prosecutor General Qorban-Ali Dorri Najaf-Abadi stressed that "promoting the sale of characters such as Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter and the importing of DVD movies and games should serve as a stark warning to all elements concerned with the matter in Iran."
Najaf-Abadi called on the relevant elements in Iran to find suitable alternatives in order "to successfully combat this cultural assault that is being aimed at the youth, whose characters have yet to fully develop." The general prosecutor stressed that "the toys do not meet the required norms, pose grave danger to the children and also severely prejudice the toy factories in Iran."
It appears for now that at least insofar as the preferences of the Iranian children with respect to their cultural heroes are concerned, Iran is losing in its struggle with the West.
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