Fulla, the Coverup Girl

While Barbie has remained to be the most loved doll in the world, she is a stranger in the Middle East. In a place of modesty among women, Barbie was seen as a threat to their traditional beliefs and has remained an alien in the country.

What are girls going to play with then?
Enter Fulla. Introduced as the hijab-wearing doll, it has gained popularity across Middle East because of its external offering. In a pink box, she comes wearing a headscarf and a traditional abaya, a long-sleeved, ankle-length black garment worn over clothes.
Young girls here are obsessed with Fulla, and conventional parents who would not buy Barbies for their daughters seem glad to pay for a modest doll that has her own miniature prayer rug, in pink felt. Children who even want to garb just like their dolls can buy an identical, girl-size prayer rug and cotton scarf set, all in pink.

Fulla: Not Boring At All
But wait. Fulla is not boring at all. If you are imagining a doll in black garmentsa alone, think again. It is a lovely surprise that what attracts kidsmore is the extensive array of very fashionable cothessold to dessFulla up.

Fulla is a fashion fanatic. It is Fulla's love of fashion and numerous accessories that debatably make her so well-liked. Young girls would want to buy Fulla ever since her first appearance on TV.

This sense of belonging is further improved by Fulla's indoor costumes, which are just as revealing as Barbie's. Fashionable skirts, bathing costumes, even lace underwear — the choices are irresistible.

At Toyland, inside Kuwait's vast Marina Mall, a famous display is dedicated to Fulla and six individually packaged outfits. The basic doll comes in her "outside trend," the black head scarf and long black abaya. Relevant to Fulla's upper-crust status, both abaya and scarf are trimmed in gold.

Beneath, Fulla wears lace undies, a calf-length straight skirt with modest side split, and a pink-and-white top with three-quarter-length sleeves. Pink slides and a pink shoulder bag finish the collection, which in traditional Muslim culture would be seen only by other women and Fulla's close male relatives.

Fulla is 11-1/2 inches tall and has long black hair with theatrical burgundy streaks. However, her look is more demure - a few mascaraed lashes outline her big brown eyes and a hint of fuchsia tints her delicate mouth.