People living with albinism don’t enjoy any special privileges in South Africa or anywhere else in the world, with the albino community often being victims of ridicule and discrimination.
With this month being Albinism Awareness Month, organisations and activists advocating for better treatment of people with albinism used this opportunity to inform communities about the needs and challenges of the hundreds of thousands
of people living with albinism.
Hape Peshoane, 30, from Lesotho, a Master’s student at the University of the Western Cape’s department of women and gender studies, is raising awareness about the life experiences of albinos, particularly the experiences of albino women in heterosexual relationships.
Peshoane is conducting research to help ensure the human rights of those living with albinism. She is in France to enhance her research.
Albinism is an inherited genetic condition that reduces the amount of melanin pigment formed in the skin, hair and/or eyes.