African Union Flag
Getty
Earlier this year, millions of soccer fans around the world had their eyes firmly on Africa as hosts Côte d’Ivoire claimed a historic victory over Nigeria in the final of the thrilling 34th African Cup of Nations, played in front of a record global television audience.
Fans attending AFCON 2023 will witness a highly sleek and modern operation on and off the field, with over $1 billion spent on upgrading roads, stadiums and other infrastructure.
While Africa is embracing modernity in many areas, socio-cultural attitudes towards disability that remain prevalent across the continent remain firmly stuck in the past. With important new legislation on the rights of people with disabilities coming into force across the African Union, there is hope that this may soon change.
For the African Protocol to come into force, it needs to be ratified by 15 African Union member states. Last month, Nigeria and Malawi joined Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda and others that have already ratified the treaty, bringing the total number of signatories to 14, putting the law on the brink of becoming a political reality.
The Protocol is similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act, or more precisely, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but with some key differences. The primary intent behind the ADP is to recognize and address the specific African dimensions of discrimination faced by the approximately 80 million people with disabilities living across the continent, many of which are rooted in complex and systemic long-standing practices and beliefs about disability, often with highly spiritual or supernatural dimensions.
Ancient customs
One example that Westerners are familiar with is the challenges faced by people with albinism, a rare, non-contagious genetic disorder that causes a lack of melanin pigment in the hair, skin and eyes, resulting in pale, white skin. It affects between one in every 5,000 and 15,000 people in Africa, and already negative public attitudes are compounded by the shock that comes with having an albinistic child born to black parents and who has black siblings.
This fosters distrust and a sense of otherness, making albinos vulnerable to social exclusion and, at worst, fatal attacks in the trafficking of body parts for use in witchcraft-related rituals, due to the belief that such body parts can be used to cast spells or give good luck charms to others.
In addition to these very specific aspects, disability discrimination in Africa is strongly gendered, disproportionately affecting women and girls: women who give birth to children with albinism or disabilities such as autism or cerebral palsy are often reprimanded and shunned by their husbands and relatives, and may be accused of infidelity, witchcraft or putting a curse on their family.
Horrifyingly, there is also a widespread belief that having sex with an albino woman will cure HIV, leading to numerous cases of emotional entrapment and sexual violence.
For the past few years, international disability equality nonprofit Sightsavers has been working on the ground in collaboration with the African Disability Forum and the African Union to secure the regional ratification needed for the African Disability Protocol to come into force. Grace Antwi Attu, the charity’s international advocacy adviser in West Africa, spoke in an interview about some frustrating cases she has come across in her work.
“We have seen many cases where mothers feel the need to hide their disabled children,” she explains.
“When we first visited Sierra Leone as part of our inclusive education project, we heard the story of a 14-year-old boy who had been hidden by his mother all his life, presumably to prevent him from being killed. But this had gone on for so long that the child was unable to move his arms or legs, having been hidden under his mother’s bed all his life.”
She continues, “In addition to the strong psychological connotations that come with the disability, when there are no support systems in place, it tragically leads to situations where children are killed and others are ignored and excluded. Many of these children only grow up to beg on the streets.”
Proper visibility
This is also one of the main mechanisms by which ableism has become a self-fulfilling prophecy in Africa: many disabled people on the continent are hidden from society by their families, while others are forced to turn to begging as their only means of survival. For a large proportion of the general public, the sight of someone begging for alms becomes their primary association with disability.
Discrimination against people with disabilities in Africa certainly has unique aspects, but these only reinforce and amplify the typical barriers also found in the West: limited employment opportunities, poor access to the physical environment, poor access to assistive technology, etc. Economic deprivation can be further exacerbated by widespread war and famine, and the legacy of colonialism that imported many of the most egregious aspects of 19th century European attitudes towards people with disabilities to Africa.
But underpinning this is increasing globalization, meaning many multinational companies now have offices in the continent’s fastest growing economies, creating pressure to align DE&I principles across all regions where they operate.
While politics and economics will no doubt play a key role in creating a more inclusive future for people with disabilities in Africa, there is one key area that appears to trump all others: the battle for hearts and minds.
Not only does public education about conditions like albinism need to reach more remote rural areas, but the general public also needs to see prominent and accomplished disabled people working across society to challenge and dispel centuries of intergenerational prejudice.
One such person would be John Chitty, who grew up as an albino in Zambia in the early 90s. Chitty has since built a successful career as a musician and was recently appointed by the president as one of Zambia’s eight Commissioners of Police. He is also working with Sightsavers to ensure the ADP is fully ratified in Zambia.
Late last year, Netflix audiences were able to enjoy MWABI – Can They See Us, a biopic directed by Kenny Mumba, based on Chitty’s life growing up as an albino. One of the most shocking scenes in this highly emotional film depicts the real-life machete attack that Chitty experienced when he was 15, when he encountered criminals who wanted to profit from selling parts of his body for witchcraft rituals. Luckily for Chitty, the attack was thwarted and now, as an adult, he aims to use his position to ensure that others do not have to live in fear or face social exclusion.
Zambian music star John Chitty performs for crowds
John Chitty
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t a lot of information available about albinism,” Chiti explains.
“I didn’t have any inspiration or anyone to look up to, so I felt like I was the only one who was special. But now there are people in the spotlight. I hope people will think, there’s a John Chitty now. Maybe there’ll be a John Chitty on Netflix and a little boy watching it will think, ‘Wow, if John Chitty can do it, so can I.’ Parents will also see that there are people with the same condition who are successful in life.”
But for Chiti, the success of Africa’s contemporary disability rights movement should not be measured solely by how high individuals with disabilities can soar, but by how peacefully they can live.
“This is about human rights,” says Chitty. “People should be able to exercise their rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others and shouldn’t have to fight to prove they are human. This is my vision and I hope that the new generation coming up doesn’t have to become a musician or release a film like me to be accepted.”
“You need to know that you are already born fully human and that you don’t need to prove anything to anyone to enjoy your life and rights just like everyone else.”