Mumbai: Amazon India has come under fire for selling an ashtray designed to look like a naked woman in a tub. In the wake of the criticism, Amazon removed the product from its Indian platform, and later from its international site.

The ashtray, which is designed to allow the user to stub a cigarette out in the woman’s vaginal area, drew severe criticism on social media. But removing the product from the e-retailing platform does not address the larger problem – of how the creation and sale of these objects contribute in normalizing objectification.

The product listing was flooded with comments from many angry customers, urging Amazon India to take it down. An Amazon customer said “What the hell is wrong with Amazon. This is not cool at all and this product is shaming.

BGR India reached out to Amazon India, to find out how they filter their products to check for obscenity and illegal listings.

The company representative explained that the e-commerce platform has over a lakh of sellers, who collectively put up thousands of postings each day. So, while it is difficult to monitor each and every listing that goes up.

Every seller is provided with a list of guidelines, which mandates them from not listing a product which is legally prohibited. Now the product in issue is an ashtray, and is not exactly an illegal product, however, Amazon India noted that it was flagged and criticized by many, and so it pulled down the listing after looking into the matter.

Recently, one of Amazon’s listing created a much widespread fury, after the company was found selling a doormat with India’s flag on it. Amazon received a hoard of angry tweets from Indians.

Beside this External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,  forced the e-commerce platform to tender an unconditional apology and withdraw all products insulting the Tricolor, otherwise no Amazon official will get an Indian visa.