Though the American Dolls line is known to portray a variety of ethnicities, there is currently no doll representing American Muslim little girls. Twelve year old Salwa and her nine-year old sister, Zahra, want to change that and have started a petition to American Girl president Katy Dickson and Margo Georgiadis, CEO of Mattel, Inc. (American Girl is a subsidiary of Mattel.)
Here’s a snippet of their powerful petition:
As American girls today, we are fortunate to be successors to a long line of real American girls who were strong, smart, courageous, and even defiant. But lately, it hasn’t always been easy to be strong. We’re lucky to go to a school where we are accepted, but we also know that many Muslim American kids are not as lucky. A recent study found that 42 percent of Muslims with children in grades K through 12 reported that their children had been bullied because of their religion. Even worse, the same study found that in 1 out of 4 incidents of bullying against Muslim students, teachers and school officials participated in the bullying.
It’s wrong that any American girl or boy should have to grow up fearful to be themselves. Now, more than ever, it is critical that all Americans come together to protect and support each other. My sister and I can’t think of a more powerful way to show that our country is welcoming than by having a Muslim American girl join Addy, Felicity, Josefina, Julie, Kaya, Kit, Rebecca, and Samantha as an official American Girl doll…
With this doll, American Girl can help create a world where people like Zahra and I are accepted, and treated like any other American girl.
