The first commercial batches of dolls in Tajik national dress have arrived in shops and bazaars across the country in time for the New Year's shopping season.
According to Radio Liberty, it is part of an intensified government effort against overt displays of conservative Islam.
Retailers said state consumer-goods and -services agency raids of toy shops in late November drove home the point, and included warnings against the sale of Barbie or other dolls in Islamic head scarves.
In the weeks before the November inspections, U.S.-based toy manufacturer Mattel announced that in 2018 it would introduce a version of its globally recognized Barbie doll in conservative Islamic clothing, known as the hijab, inspired by U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad.
"We have been told to place orders with our Chinese partners for dolls wearing traditional Tajik costumes," Saodat Doniyorova, who imports toys wholesale from neighboring China, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service.
Doniyorova and other private merchants talked about the raids by Tojikstandart, a state agency regulating consumer goods and services.
"The officials instructed us not to import the Barbie dolls wearing the hijab," Doniyorova said on December 17.
An official at Tojikstandart confirmed that the state agency has “advised” the retailers not to import dolls in headscarves and instead place orders with manufacturers for dolls in Tajik traditional costumes.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to brief media, the source said the move was aimed at supporting the government's policies and promoting Tajik culture.
The official said “there was not yet a final decision” on a possible official ban on the Barbie in the hijab, “as no one has yet approached us to discuss their import.”
Meanwhile, toy sellers in Dushanbe, Kulob and other cities of the country said the dolls in Tajik costumes are proving popular with customers as people shop ahead of New Year's celebrations.
The new dolls in Tajik toy shops boast several types of Tajik traditional costumes, representing different regions of the country.
