The activist and OkayAfrica 100 Women honoree just got her own Barbie and it’s cute.
As you may already know, the month of March is International Women’s Month and to celebrate, Barbie has unveiled its latest line of “Shero” dolls modeled after 20 inspirational women across multiple industries in conjunction with their 60th anniversary.
One of the women whose image has been made into a doll is Adwoa Aboah, the British-Ghanaian model, activist and one of OkayAfrica’s 100 women 2019, who uses her online platform Gurls Talk, founded in 2015 to provide a safe space for young women to discuss a number of topics, that are often considered taboo.
“I started Gurls Talk off the back of my own experiences and struggles as a girl, and then a woman,” she tells OkayAfrica about the platform. “It became apparent to me that I’d lacked the confidence to share and speak out about the issues affecting me, and so I wanted to build a community within which all of those issues society deems taboo—such as sexuality, mental health and female physical health—were discussed openly.
Aboah’s doll comes in two outfits, one in a leopard skirt paired with a Gurls Talk t-shirt, as seen above, and another—our fav—in a colorful sequined number and head-wrap, which Aboah chose to replicate she wore when she won the British Fashion Council’s ‘Model of the Year’ award in 2017.
“I believe by working together we can encourage girls to find their authentic voices and that we can have an impact on the world for the next generation of girls,” she tells Vogue. “Through my work with Gurls Talk and partnership with Barbie, I hope we can inspire girls to try to change the world around them, through acts big or small.”
Other “Shero” dolls include one of Yara Shahidi, Naomi Osaka and Frida Khalo. Barbie released its first hijab-wearing doll back in 2017, in honor of the Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad.
Aboah is recognized, along with several other groundbreaking African women who are positively impacting youth culutre on the continet, on OkayAfrica’s annual 100 Women list. Learn more about the women who made this year’s list here.
Source: OkayAfrica.com
