People with albinism in parts of sub-Saharan Africa are hunted and killed mainly because of a belief that charms made from their bodies bring wealth and good luck.1Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (PELJ). The Impact of Myths, Superstition and Harmful Cultural Beliefs against Albinism in Tanzania: A Human Rights Perspective The same myths also cause quieter harm, from mothers being abandoned to people being shut out of jobs.2PubMed Central. The impact of stigma on people with albinism in Africa: a narrative review
What Albinism Is and Why It Stands Out in Africa
Albinism is an inherited condition in which the body makes little or no pigment. It leaves very pale skin, light hair and poor eyesight. A child inherits it only when both parents pass on a copy of the altered gene, so two parents who do not have albinism can have a child who does.3PubMed. Oculocutaneous albinism in sub-Saharan Africa: adverse sun-associated health effects and photoprotection
It is also more common in Africa than many people realise. In South Africa about 1 in 3,900 Black people has the most common type.4PubMed. Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA2) in sub-Saharan Africa: distribution of the common 2.7-kb P gene deletion mutation In some ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa it is as common as 1 in 1,000.5PubMed. Oculocutaneous albinism in sub-Saharan Africa: adverse sun-associated health effects and photoprotection
Because both parents usually look typical, a pale baby can seem inexplicable to the family. Without knowledge of genetics, people reach for spiritual explanations, and that gap in understanding is the soil in which the myths grow.
Albinism affects how the eye develops, so many people have reduced sharpness of vision, strong sensitivity to bright light, and sometimes involuntary eye movements. Glasses and low-vision aids help but do not fully correct the problem, which is why a child often needs to sit near the front of a classroom.
People with albinism are not ill in mind and are not contagious. They need sun protection and vision support, not special powers.
The Belief That Body Parts Bring Wealth and Luck
The hair, bones, genitals and thumbs of people with albinism are said to hold special powers.6The Conversation. The trade in body parts of people with albinism is driven by myth and international inaction The parts are dried, ground and carried in packets, or hidden in boats, shops, homes or clothing.7The Conversation. The trade in body parts of people with albinism is driven by myth and international inaction These charms are believed to bring wealth, success and good luck.8Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (PELJ). The Impact of Myths, Superstition and Harmful Cultural Beliefs against Albinism in Tanzania: A Human Rights Perspective Some fishermen scatter the powder in the sea, hoping for better catches.9The Conversation. The trade in body parts of people with albinism is driven by myth and international inaction
Buyers are told the charm must be made from a living or freshly killed person to be “strong,” and this claim is part of what drives attackers to abduct people rather than wait for a natural death. Those selling the charms often make big promises, such as a successful business, a mining claim that pays off, or a win in an election. Since the promised results can never be checked, a failed charm can always be explained away, and buyers may return to buy more.
Other myths strip people with albinism of their humanity. Some believe they are a curse from the gods or from dead ancestors.10St. John. Socio-cultural Status of Albinism in Africa: Challenging Myths, Concepts, and Stereotypes Some believe they never die but simply vanish, and return as ghosts.11St. John. Socio-cultural Status of Albinism in Africa: Challenging Myths, Concepts, and Stereotypes A person seen as not fully human, or as not truly dying, becomes easier to attack. The “vanishing” belief has its own danger. If people think someone with albinism never truly dies, a disappearance may be shrugged off as the person “going away” rather than treated as a crime.
A belief also persists in Uganda that sex with a person with albinism cures HIV.12PubMed Central. Beliefs about people with albinism in Uganda: A qualitative study using the Common-Sense Model As a result, women and girls with albinism also face sexual assault.
All of these ideas are false. No body part carries wealth or healing power, and sex with anyone cannot cure HIV.
Who Commits the Attacks and Who Profits
Parts are cut from people with albinism, alive or dead, and taken to so-called witchdoctors, people who claim to make potions and charms with spiritual powers.13United Nations. Persons with albinism: Hunted for their body parts The chain has three groups: those who hunt, kill and transport the parts; people posing as healers who use them in rituals; and buyers of the charms.14United Nations. Persons with albinism: Hunted for their body parts In Malawi, victims’ parts are often sold to traditional medicine practitioners.15Proceedings of the African Futures Conference. Medicine Killings, Abduction of People with Albinism, Wealth and Prosperity in North Malawi: A Historical Assessment Blaming traditional healers as a whole has caused conflict in Tanzania, since many genuine healers reject this violence.16PubMed. “Witchdoctors” in White Coats: Politics and Healing Knowledge in Tanzania
A hunter who finds a target may work with a relative, neighbour or other contact who knows where the person lives and when they are alone. The parts then pass through middlemen who handle transport and connect hunters with those who make the charms. Each link takes a cut.
Tanzanian police have estimated a complete set of body parts is worth about $75,000 to witchdoctors.17The University of Chicago. The Fetishization of Albinos in Tanzania That figure is an estimate, not a fixed price list, since the trade is secret. Actual payments to hunters are likely far lower.
Buyers matter as much as killers. Without people seeking wealth charms, hunters would have no market, and the buyers are often wealthier people looking for success in business or politics.
The danger often comes from close by. Even graves are robbed, so the dead are not safe. Families often live in fear and keep relatives hidden.
Where the Killings Happen and How Old the Practice Is
People with albinism face abductions, killings and mutilations in 23 African countries.18CrossRef API. Medicine Killings, Abduction of People with Albinism, Wealth and Prosperity in North Malawi: A Historical Assessment Malawi, with an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 people with albinism, recorded over 60 abductions and killings after 2014.19CrossRef API. Medicine Killings, Abduction of People with Albinism, Wealth and Prosperity in North Malawi: A Historical Assessment
Reported numbers likely understate the problem. Many attacks are never reported or investigated, grave robbing and trafficking may go unnoticed, and fear and stigma keep families silent.
The idea behind the attacks is older than the current wave. In South Africa, killings to obtain body parts for traditional medicine have long occurred but are little studied.20Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. Features and investigative implications of muti murder in South Africa These crimes were not limited to people with albinism. Because so few cases have been studied, it is hard to say how many have taken place or how they were prosecuted.
Ritual killings were once accepted in parts of southern Africa as a way to strengthen a chief and protect society.21Afrika Focus. ‘Makhosi a via (Chiefs Commit Ritual Murder)’ – Why ritual murders in Southern Africa should be seen as meaningful violence (and not senseless) Today’s attacks borrow from that older idea that human body parts carry power.
Little is known about other regions. In China and other Asian countries, children with albinism face abandonment by their families.22United Nations. People with albinism and human rights Killings for body parts are mostly reported in sub-Saharan Africa.
Why Attackers Often Go Unpunished
In Malawi, police and courts lack money and trained staff, which has created a backlog of cases.23Amnesty International. Malawi: Impunity fuels killings of people with albinism for their body parts Most prosecutors are police officers with no legal training.24Amnesty International. Malawi: Impunity fuels killings of people with albinism for their body parts Many cases therefore end in acquittals or convictions on lesser charges.25Amnesty International. Malawi: Impunity fuels killings of people with albinism for their body parts
The law itself has gaps. Zambia’s laws do not make it a crime to possess body parts of a person with albinism, so someone caught with such parts may escape conviction.26OHCHR. Access to Justice for Persons with Albinism: Challenges and Solutions in Zambia Even when laws apply, minor penalties are sometimes given for severe crimes.27OHCHR. Access to Justice for Persons with Albinism: Challenges and Solutions in Zambia With so little risk of punishment, the trade stays attractive.
Families see attackers released and lose trust in the police. Some stop reporting attacks altogether.
Government responses vary. Some governments record progress in protecting people with albinism, while others deny or downplay the violations, and UN reviews show responses are generally inadequate.
How the Myths Harm Mothers and Families
Women and girls with albinism face more stigma than men.28PubMed Central. The impact of stigma on people with albinism in Africa: a narrative review A mother may be blamed for a “white” baby, accused of infidelity, rejected by the father’s family and abandoned.29PubMed Central. The impact of stigma on people with albinism in Africa: a narrative review She then faces poverty, the threat of violence and exclusion.30PubMed Central. A participatory systematic review on human rights and the birth of a child with albinism in sub-Saharan Africa Some children with albinism are killed at birth.31PubMed Central. A participatory systematic review on human rights and the birth of a child with albinism in sub-Saharan Africa The infidelity accusation rests on a mistake: both parents carry the gene, so teaching people basic genetics can directly protect mothers.
If her husband leaves or sends her away, she can lose her home and income. A single mother then has to care for a child who needs sun protection and eye care, often with fewer resources than before.
Names and labels add to the exclusion. Many local names link albinism to curses or past family wrongs. Some labels refer to money, making people seem like goods to trade, and others compare people to animals or plants.
Life Under Stigma Health Work and Mental Strain
In Nigeria, misconceptions block people with albinism from equal education and jobs.32Disability & Society. Being different: what it means to be a person with albinism in Nigeria In Zambia they are shut out of public-sector jobs and lack sunscreen and vision aids.33Disability & Society. Employment barriers faced by persons with albinism in Zambia’s public sector: invisible in the system
A child who cannot see the board may fall behind and, without glasses or a seat at the front, may be seen as a poor learner when the problem is vision. Teasing and name-calling can lead children to leave school early. Fewer qualifications then narrow the jobs open to them later.
Many of the jobs open to people in poor areas, such as farming, fishing and market selling, mean long hours in strong sun. A person with albinism who cannot get indoor work is exposed to more sun damage, which raises the risk of skin cancer. Hats, long sleeves and sunscreen greatly cut cancer risk, but poverty and stigma often put these out of reach.
Shunned by communities, people with albinism often delay seeing a doctor about sun damage. On average they seek care 9 to 12 months after skin lesions appear, so skin cancer is often advanced by diagnosis.34PubMed Central. Oculocutaneous Albinism and Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin of the Head and Neck in Sub-Saharan Africa About 40% with skin cancer do not finish treatment because of cost or distance.35PubMed Central. Oculocutaneous Albinism and Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin of the Head and Neck in Sub-Saharan Africa
Threats to their safety cause trauma for women with albinism, lasting months after an incident.36Disability & Society. Accumulated social vulnerability and experiences of psycho-trauma among women living with albinism in Tanzania Years of such strain are linked to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.37Asian Journal of Research and Reports in Neurology. Psychosocial and Mental Health Burden among Persons with Albinism in Nigeria: Findings from a Nationwide Study
What Is Being Done and What Works
Tanzania set up shelters to protect children with albinism from attacks.38African Human Rights Law Journal. Human rights violations of persons with albinism in Tanzania: The case of children in temporary holding shelters But rights violations sometimes occurred more inside the shelters than outside.39African Human Rights Law Journal. Human rights violations of persons with albinism in Tanzania: The case of children in temporary holding shelters Many children also felt abandoned because families could not afford to visit, and poor records made it hard to reunite families.40Human Rights Watch. Tanzania Should Move Ahead With an Albinism Protection Plan
Shelters are not a long-term answer because they separate children from family. Real safety means changing communities and ending impunity.
Grassroots groups and a UN Independent Expert on Albinism have raised global attention.41PubMed Central. Albinism and human rights: From marginalisation to global advocacy A Tanzanian radio drama featuring a person with albinism reduced community stigma.42Disability & Society. Reducing albinism related stigma in Tanzania: an exploration of the impact of radio drama and radio interview Education lessons in Tanzanian high schools improved both knowledge and attitudes.43Foundations of Science. Contact Versus Education: An Explorative Comparison Between the Contact and Education Strategy Considering Albinism Related Stigma in Tanzanian High Schools
Readers can support groups led by people with albinism, share the accurate fact that albinism is genetic and not magical, and back calls for stronger laws and prosecution.