Outrage as naked women dance for tourists in 'human zoo'

Rights campaigners and politicians have condemned a video showing women from a protected and primitive tribe dancing for tourists in exchange for food on India's far-flung Andaman Islands.



British newspaper The Observer released the video showing Jarawa tribal women - some of them naked - being lured to dance and sing after a bribe was allegedly paid to a policeman to produce them.

The tribe, thought to have been among the first people to migrate successfully from Africa to Asia, lives a nomadic existence in the lush, tropical forests of the Andamans in the Bay of Bengal.

India's Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo promised to take action over the incident, terming it "disgusting" on Wednesday, and the home ministry has sought a report.

Survival International, which lobbies on behalf of tribal groups worldwide, said the video showed tourists apparently enjoying "human zoos".

"Quite clearly, some people's attitudes towards tribal peoples haven't moved on a jot. The Jarawa are not circus ponies bound to dance at anyone's bidding," said Stephen Corry, the group's director, in a press release.

The Jarawa tribe, who number just 403 and are in danger of dying out.

The Andaman and Nicobar tropical island chain is home to four other rare tribes - Onge, the Great Andamanese, the Sentinelese and the Shompens, each numbering fewer than 350 members.

Another tribe called Bo died out in January 2010.


ORIGINAL SOURCE
Content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.