Outrage as BBC names Giant Panda among 12 'female faces of 2011'

BBC has sparked controversy by naming a giant panda named Sweety among 12 females in its ‘Faces of 2011’ list.

The giant panda also known as Tian Tian, was listed on the BBC’s website as the female face of December, after she made headlines when she was moved to Edinburgh Zoo from China with a male panda to breed, the Daily Mail reported.

She joined 11 other distinguished names including shot U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Pauline Pearce — dubbed the heroine of Hackney after she was filmed standing up to rioters in north London — and Libyan Iman al-Obeidi, who burst into a press conference to reveal she had been gang-raped by Colonel Gaddafi’s officials.

Defending its decision to name Sweetie among the 12 women in its Faces of 2011, BBC said that she is ‘a light-hearted addition’ to the list’.