The ‘Women’s Equality Day’ is round the corner. Perfect time to introduce the latest additions in Barbie’s ‘Inspiring women’ collection. A recent announcement by Mattel confirmed Rosa Parks and Sally Ride as the new addition to Inspiring Women collection of Barbie.
Rosa Parks was a regular seamstress of 42 years. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, during a bus journey, Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus and leave the front one for a white co-passenger. This led her to land behind bars. She was trialed and was declared guilty for civil disobedience. This incident led the black folks of the town, to boycott public buses. The Supreme Court soon considered the racial segregation in buses to be unconstitutional, leading to a significant victory for Rosa and her community.
Sally Kristen Ride, on the other hand, was the first lady astronaut of America and the third one to go to space. Before her space expedition, she was made to face questions like “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? Do you weep when things go wrong on the job? Will you become a mother?” Such questions which have no relevance was not asked her fellow astronaut. Overcoming all such social taunts and barriers, Sally made her country proud and answered all those who doubted her quite loudly. Sooner, she traveled to space yet again, being the first women to go to space twice.
`To commemorate such symbols of woman-empowerment, Mattel decided to launch the dolls of these two women in its latest collection to provide the young girls with something which are not only for playing purpose but also would serve the figure of a role-model. A Mattel official quotes, “Each doll features authentic clothing and unique accessories, plus educational information about the honoree’s contributions to society so that girls can b inspired by their stories through play.” Other figures in the collection include Amelia Earhart, Katherine Johnson, and Frida Kahlo.
The dolls will be up for purchase from Monday.