Beyond Barbie: Meet the Queens of Africa dolls from Nigeria
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:21
Racial stereotypes are still too prevalent in society. The best way to diminish it gradually is to teach children that skin comes in many shades and colours and to love their own as well.
Well aware of racial stereotypes, Taofick Okoya, a Nigerian entrepreneur, is trying to find a way to fight it and help children accept their skin colour.
It all began when one day, his young daughter expressed her wish to have white skin. This innocent remark was not offensive for the entrepreneur per se as he was able to connect the dots. Every little girl reads storybooks, watches Disney movies and plays with dolls, where the majority of characters are portrayed with blonde hair, white skin and blue eyes. Thus, from a very early age, their minds are moulded to identify with these benchmarks of beauty standards – for example, Barbie.
In an attempt to change this mindset, Okoya launched the ‘Queens of Africa’ range – black dolls to help young Nigerian girls be proud of their natural beauty, culture and heritage. For Okoya, the more the little girls play and interact with dolls that resemble themselves, the more likely that they will accept their appearance and culture.
The Black Barbie dolls are modelled after the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. They are dressed in traditional gowns but also have various other outfits made from West African fabrics. Each doll embodies a particular value – Azeezah is from the Hausa tribe and is the queen of peace; Nneka comes from the Igbo tribe and represents love; and Wuraola from the Yoruna tribe characterises endurance.
The range has been a huge success, selling between 6,000 and 9,000 dolls per month. The entrepreneur would like to expand his doll line to include at least one doll to represent each African country. Moreover, he hopes one day to create a limited edition series to raise funds for an African education charity.
We couldn’t agree more with this initiative! The world has more than one type of beauty and the time to reclaim it is long overdue – they’re already outselling Barbie.
Lindsay POUI-DI
