Fear, stigma and discrimination still affect whether people with albinism can safely attend school, travel freely, seek employment or earn a living. Credit: UN Photo/Marie Frechon.

By Elizabeth Kamundia and Samer Muscati
NAIROBI, Jun 3 2026 (IPS)

When Patricia J. looks for work or shops at the outdoor markets near her home in rural Malawi, fear still follows her. Years after surviving two attacks linked to harmful beliefs about albinism, she says she remains constantly alert. “I still carry the fear that at any moment I can be attacked again,” she told us as we did research about conditions for people with albinism.

The experience of Patricia, whose surname is withheld for her privacy, reflects a painful reality. While killings and abductions of people with albinism have declined in Malawi in recent years following stronger government action and public attention, the legacy of violence continues to shape everyday life. Fear, stigma and discrimination still affect whether people with albinism can safely attend school, travel freely, seek employment or earn a living.

These experiences are not isolated incidents. Together, they reveal how stigma, discrimination, insecurity, and inadequate social protection reinforce a cycle of social and economic exclusion and poverty.

A new joint report by Human Rights Watch and the African Albinism Network documents how people with albinism in Malawi face widespread discrimination in employment and barriers to education, health care and social security that trap many in poverty and ongoing fear of violence

A new joint report by Human Rights Watch and the African Albinism Network documents how people with albinism in Malawi face widespread discrimination in employment and barriers to education, health care and social security that trap many in poverty and ongoing fear of violence.

Malawi was selected for this research because it has one of the largest documented populations of people with albinism in Africa and has faced some of the region’s most widely reported attacks linked to harmful myths about albinism. 

While Malawi has taken notable steps in recent years, particularly to respond to killings and abductions, the discrimination and barriers documented in this report reflect broader challenges facing people with albinism across parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Again and again, people interviewed described how stigma follows them throughout their lives.

For many, social and economic exclusion begins in childhood. Children with albinism often face bullying at school, inaccessible classrooms, and limited accommodations for low vision. Although Malawi has taken some positive steps, including providing large-print materials for national examinations, support in school is inconsistent. These barriers contribute to high dropout rates.

The discrimination continues in the workplace. People with albinism reported being rejected at interviews the moment employers saw them, shut out of customer-facing roles, and denied jobs based on harmful stereotypes that they were incapable, fragile or a liability.

Rose M., a trained hotel worker, recalled entering a job interview and immediately hearing gasps. “When you send in your application, they don’t know you have albinism,” she said. “When you show up for the interview, the facial expressions tell you everything.”

Others described employers refusing to hire them because of fears they might be harmed while working outdoors. These concerns are often framed as protection, but in practice they become another form of exclusion.

People with albinism in Malawi face genuine health risks from prolonged sun exposure, including dramatically elevated rates of skin cancer, But instead of reasonable accommodations to ensure safety and healthy work conditions, such as providing protective clothing and sunscreen, and allowing flexible hours, or alternative tasks, many employers simply shut them out of work altogether.

Many people with albinism rely on subsistence farming or informal outdoor labor because formal employment opportunities are scarce. Several people said they worked in unsafe conditions outdoors because they had no other way to feed their families. One woman told us she abandoned treatment for cancer in part because she needed to continue earning money for her children.

Women and girls with albinism often face even greater barriers.  People interviewed described heightened risks of sexual violence, harassment and abandonment, fueled in part by harmful myths, fetishization, and misconceptions surrounding women and girls with albinism.

Malawi’s government deserves credit for important recent reforms. The 2024 Persons with Disabilities Act includes protections against discrimination in employment and guarantees reasonable accommodation. The government also adopted a new National Disability Policy in 2025 and is expected to release a strengthened National Action Plan on Persons with Albinism this month.

But laws on paper are not enough.

Our research found that implementation remains weak. Many employers are unaware of their obligations. Workplace accommodations remain rare. Access to social security programs are inconsistent. Some officials themselves lacked awareness of key provisions of the disability law.

People with albinism should not have to choose between protecting their health and earning a living. They should not be excluded from jobs because of myths, fear or assumptions about incapacity. And they should not have to live in constant fear simply because of how they look.

International Albinism Awareness Day on June 13 should not only be a moment to condemn violence against people with albinism. It should also be a call to confront the subtler but pervasive  forms of discrimination that continue every day in schools, workplaces and communities.

Malawi should move beyond treating people with albinism primarily as victims of violence and instead confront the deeper discrimination and exclusion that have continued long after the headlines have faded.

Patricia survived two attacks. But survival alone is not enough.

People with albinism in Malawi are entitled to what everyone else wants: safety, dignity, equal opportunity, belonging and the ability to work without fear.

Elizabeth Kamundia is disability rights director and Samer Muscati is deputy director, both at Human Rights Watch.