Wonder Woman removed from position as UN ambassador

Wonder Woman’s battle for equality for women and girls with the UN has come to an untimely end.

The scantily clad comic book superhero has been removed from her position as a UN honorary ambassador less than two months after being appointed, following protests.

A UN spokesman said the character's role at the 193-member organisation would end on Friday, despite plans for Wonder Woman to be used in an empowerment campaign for women and girls into 2017.

The appointment of the superhero to fight for gender equality on October 21st sparked heavy criticism, with nearly 45,000 people signing an online petition asking UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to reconsider the selection of the character.

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“Although the original creators may have intended Wonder Woman to represent a strong and independent ‘warrior’ woman with a feminist message, the reality is that the character’s current iteration is that of a large-breasted white woman of impossible proportions,” the petition read.

Wonder Woman, a DC Comics Inc hero, first appeared in 1941, fighting villains, rescuing victims and unearthing evil plots.

Dozens of UN employees protested at the the organisation's headquarters in New York city on the day of the appointment, as Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, said the Wonder Woman empowerment campaign would feature various initiatives "over the course of the next year".

The UN did not provide further details as to why the Wonder Woman campaign was ending this week, but spokesman Jeffrey Brez said campaigns using fictional characters often lasted no longer than a few months.

He said the Angry Birds, a collection of animated characters that originated in an online video game, had been used as climate envoys in March for a single day.

Exposure

DC Entertainment, which publishes DC Comics, said it was pleased with the exposure Wonder Woman had given to the UN’s global goal to achieve gender equality by 2030.

"Wonder Woman stands for peace, justice and equality, and for 75 years she has been a motivating force for many and will continue to be long after the conclusion of her UN honorary ambassadorship," said Courtney Simmons, from DC Entertainment,

DC Entertainment is a subsidiary of Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, which is a division of Time Warner.

Ms Simmons said the release next year of a special-edition Wonder Woman comic book on the empowerment of women and girls, which was announced in October, is still planned.

A full-length Wonder Woman movie, unaffiliated with the UN campaign, is scheduled for release by Warner Bros in June next year.

Reuters