Black long hair, red curve-hugging corset, with her sword sheathed and hung on her back, just beneath her shield, ready to take down bad guys–that is Wonder Woman, a comic character, and now an honoraryUnited Nations (UN) ambassador.

On 21st October, Wonder Woman, the iconic superhero, was named a United Nations Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and honouring gender equality, while they celebrated the 75th anniversary of the comic character. The move that was audacious and seen as fun received backlash, disapproval from the UN staff and they expressed their disapproval with more than 600 of them signing a petition that strongly condemns the honorary appointment.

In an alternate universe (or maybe in Amazon), it could be fun for Wonder Woman to be an ambassador of the UN. But, is this a brilliant idea in a world of diverse cultures, where the intensely sexualised image of Wonder Woman will not be acceptable by or appealing to some? The role of an ambassador to champion gender equality globally wouldn’t be met if her role as an ambassador and all she embodies aren’t even universally relatable.

“The bottom line appears to be that the United Nations was unable to find a real life woman that would be able to champion the rights of all women on the issue of gender equality and the fight for their empowerment.”

The UN is a conglomerate of 192 diverse countries–with different ideas about gender equality and women empowerment–that need to be engaged in discussions on gender equality and women empowerment in their various states. I doubt if a divisive comic book character will be able to do that or, at the very least, be able to travel the world to empower young girls.

In the place of Wonder Woman, there are real powerful women–real life Wonder Women–who young girls around the world can relate to regardless of their cultural differences.

Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Adichie is a brilliant author and a winner of the Commonwealth prize the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and many other awards, who has been vocal about gender equality, whose teachings we recite and has changed the narrative of feminism, making us understand the topic more clearly.

Michelle Obama

The first lady of America started the initiative “Let Girls Learn”, an initiative aimed at helping girls get an education that will help them attain their full potential and who has been vocal about gender equality, traveling the world to promote it.

Fadumo Dayib

The first Somali woman to run for president, breaking the down walls and helping girls around Africa and in the world who might have been told that the presidency was a male thing or conditioned to dream smaller than their male counterparts due to their gender to aspire higher and dream bigger.

Malala Yousafzai

An advocate for millions of girls denied education and a founder of the Malala Fund, an initiative created to create awareness on the social and economic impact of girls’ education and to empower girls and unlock their potentials.

Freida Pinto

An actress, producer and ambassador of Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls’ education which aims to change the mindset that keeps girls around the world out of school. Girl Rising is an initiative that uses the power of storytelling to share the undeniable truth that educating girls can transform societies. They raise awareness through videos and other tools to ensure that girl education is part of the mainstream conversation.

Joyce Banda

She was the first female president of Malawi and has been ranked as one of the most influential women in Africa by Forbes Magazine. She initiated numerous projects about policy change for women and children in Malawi, which include the Joyce Banda Foundation For Better Education, Young Women Leaders Network and the National Association of business Women. In 1997, she was given an African price of ‘leadership for sustainable hunger end’.