People With Albinism Are Being Killed for Body Parts in Malawi
Albinism is a rare condition that results in a person’s body producing little to no melanin pigment. People with the condition may have visual impairment and skin sensitivity. But for people with albinism in Malawi, the condition may also put them at risk of being killed for their body parts.
People with albinism living in Malawi have been abducted, killed and mutilated for their body parts due to the belief that they have magical powers and can bring good luck and wealth.
People with albinism also face other dangerous misconceptions, such as the belief that they are a curse from the gods and that the condition is contagious, according to an Amnesty International report. And women with albinism are at an increased risk of sexual assault and rape due to the belief that having sex with a person with albinism can cure AIDS.
Although people with albinism make up a small portion of the country’s population, the killings still represent a grave human rights issue. Amnesty International estimates between 7,000 and 10,000 people have albinism in Malawi. And according to a United Nations report, 150 cases of killings, attacks and other violations against people with albinism have been reported in the country since 2014. Victims are mostly children or young adults. And these attacks likely do not represent every instance of violence against people with albinism — as many cases could go unreported.
Victims of this violence face gruesome deaths — in part because it is believed that causing the victim to scream during the killing enhances the magical powers, according to the United Nations. Illustrating this horrific practice, a man with albinism named Yasin Phiri recently was brutally killed in front of his 9-year-old son. The attackers stabbed him in the stomach, cut off his arms and removed his intestines.
Jeez! This is a new one on me.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Humans....
