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Wonder Woman is no longer a UN Ambassador

Wonder Woman is no longer a UN Ambassador

A petition against her appointment was doing the rounds, but the UN insists her dismissal has nothing to do with that
14 Dec, 2016

Remember when Wonder Woman was selected as an honorary UN Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls? Yeah, that's over.

Just two months ago, the comic book hero was chosen as the ambassador as part of efforts to realise UN's Sustainable Development Goal #5, which aims to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls" by 2030.

But the decision sparked controversy as many were against the idea of selecting a fictional character, that too one whose sexualised image has been debated over for decades.

A petition was launched against Wonder Woman's ambassadorship in an attempt to convince the UN to reverse this decision.

"It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls," read the popular petition, oblivious to the character's development in the past 75 years. Wonder Woman had undergone many costume changes, with some version that had her completely covered, so the DC character is not as 'overtly sexualized' as the petitioners claim.

Critics also argued that the UN could have appointed a real-life heroine as ambassador, especially since so many women are engaged in the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse.

According to CNN, UN spokesman Jeffrey Brez announced that the project with Wonder Woman will end December 16, a decision that has nothing to do with the petition or similar protests.

"The objective was to reach out to Wonder Woman fans to raise awareness of UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 5. We did that. We are very happy," he said. However, at the time of appointment, it was never mentioned that her tenure as ambassador will be so short.

Perhaps this is just proof of how women, even Themysciran princess Wonder Woman, can never please everyone.

Comments

Indian tamil Dec 15, 2016 05:44am
Malala is the best choice.
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Spyrogyra Dec 15, 2016 09:38am
Oh, I'm sure it was because security wouldn't allow her lasso into the building.
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hamde Dec 15, 2016 10:22am
Why not replace her with Malala Yousufzai?
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