Growing up in California, I was always the odd one out. I was too brown to blend in with the white kids, too Arab to bond with the Mexicans, and too white to hang out with the black kids. As far as I knew, mine was the only Yemeni family in all California– my house was an island where saltah was the soup of the day, every day, and Abdel Halim, MBC and Barbie dolls reigned supreme…and that was exactly the problem.
That stupid Barbie doll made me feel like I could never belong, which is why this Emirati brand is so important. Over the years, Hispanic dolls, Native American doll, hell, even Jewish dolls came to exist, but never a Muslim or Arab doll.
Your Arabian Doll, an Abu Dhabi store that opened in 2016, is a line of dolls designed for Arab girls (and boys if need be). If this brand existed when I was young, maybe I would have accepted the fact that I was Arab, brown and Muslim earlier in my life. God knows it took my entire teenage years to be okay with who I am.
The brand that was founded by Mazen Chedid, who was born and raised in the UAE, was designed to promote “self-individuality” of young kids, and that is quite something. The dolls come in three-sizes: 12, 16, and 18 inches, and clothing, accessories, and furniture come in sizes to match the dolls.
WE SAID THIS: I’d like to give it up to Your Arabian Doll, thank you very much.