Update: Amazon has pulled the ashtray down.
One fails to understand who are these people curating and cataloging products on sale on e-commerce website Amazon. And if there is someone doing the job out there and if that person is not a robot, they simply have very questionable taste. Selling a doormats and underwear with the flags of a country is a passe. Now, the e-commerce website is in trouble for putting up this ashtray, which by all means is distasteful and disrespectful towards women.
But Amazon is only concerned about the more banal details. It informs us, the ashtray doesn’t come cheap. You have to pay something around Rs 5000, although, you can divide it up in neat EMIs.
Oblivious of the hurt sentiments, this is how Amazon displayed the product on their website.
And made us believe what an “honorable” product it was.
They also felt that the ashtray would look best placed between two glasses of wine.
Many women users on social media took offense to this dire objectification of a woman’s body.
They registered their protest, with the customer feedback section of the portal.
A facebook user Nida Rehman put out the image of this offensive image accompanied with a powerful post.
She writes: “Here’s a new ashtray available in the market. Light a cigarette and stub the butt in a woman’s vagina. This is selling on Amazon. This ashtray is actually a product of the same mentality that propels the rape culture and sexual brutality. Rape women and then put a rod, or stone or any foreign object inside their vagina. I can’t even say if Amazon understands what kind of mentality is behind a product like this. I have uninstalled the Amazon app.” (translated from Hindi)
Many later told her that just uninstalling the app wouldn’t do. A formal complaint needs to be made. Many took to Twitter.
As per this Facebook post, Amazon has responded to the concerns of these women, with a prompt mail and has also promised to remove the object from the catalogue.
The gap between a woman’s leg has for too long been misused to sell things. It’s time misogyny and sexism is brought down one product at a time.
You can register your complain here.
