Iran’s morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday.
, N/ j1 }- X) S( R- J crack down on: 镇压;制裁 . O4 T: s: @7 y# C$ o8 Y" s
pernicious: 有害的;恶性的 % Y1 s# E' ~$ h* a6 K
erode: 腐蚀;侵蚀 As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear program, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a "soft war" against decadent cultural influences. & r* l/ C( H, p( D& z
"About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies," said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran. ( l" ?; D" W" M9 z7 t
Iran’s religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by US company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its "destructive cultural and social consequences." Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops. 0 b+ o L. A% P$ j
The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police.
: W( x6 |: h6 I A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told the reporters.
; v9 w8 E% o9 c" e a range of: 一系列;一些;一套 The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes. 4 O" p4 F3 |- N- u0 `! C/ I
loose-fitting: 宽大的
& l/ b9 e7 F' j2 Y; x "My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat," said Farnaz, a 38-year-old mother, adding that she could not find Barbie cartoon DVDs as she was told they were also banned from public sale. ( y( Z ?- _0 t$ c% e
Pointing to a doll covered in black long veil, a 40-year-old Tehran toy shop manager said: "We still sell Barbies but secretly and put these in the window to make the police think we are just selling these kinds of dolls." |