Peer-reviewed article
A human rights-based analysis of the experiences and challenges faced by children with albinism and their mothers: Insights from the African film 'Can You See Us?'
Vengesai P, Mswela M ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study uses the film 'Can You See Us?' to analyze the experiences of children with albinism and their mothers across Africa through a human rights lens. Children with albinism face poverty, physical and psychological abuse, bullying, and violent assault, which the authors argue constitutes human rights violations. The research highlights that these challenges are rooted in broader socio-political systems that enable discrimination and that existing regional policies on albinism do not adequately address mothers' experiences or gender-sensitive concerns.
Key points
- Children with albinism experience poverty, physical and psychological maltreatment, bullying, abuse, and violent assault
- The challenges faced are embedded in socio-political systems that perpetuate inequity and discrimination rather than being individual problems
- Regional action plans for albinism in Africa lack gender-sensitive approaches and do not adequately address motherhood experiences
- These adversities should be recognized as violations of intrinsic human rights
- The film offers insights into the experiences of mothers caring for children with albinism in African contexts
Limitations
The study is a qualitative analysis of a single film rather than primary research with affected populations, so findings may reflect the filmmaker's perspective rather than comprehensive documentation of experiences across Africa. The absence of specific country information limits understanding of which African contexts are represented or how experiences may vary regionally.
Abstract
Background This study utilises the cinematic work 'Can You See Us' as a prism to elucidate contemporary discourse surrounding the intricate tribulations confronted by children with albinism and their mothers. Despite increasing academic research on the connection between albinism and motherhood experiences, meaningful critical discussions on this topic remain inadequately addressed within both scholarly frameworks and African policy and human rights paradigms. Objectives Utilising a human rights-based approach, the inquiry elucidates how systemic sufferings besiege a child with albinism and his mother. It also reveals that the challenges endured by children with albinism and their mothers are not merely individual forays but are intricately interwoven within expansive socio-political matrices that perpetuate inequity and discrimination. Method A mixed qualitative methodology was employed, incorporating film observation and document-based analysis. Results The findings of this study illuminate profound adversities confronted by individuals afflicted with albinism, encompassing destitution, experiences of corporeal and psychological maltreatment, incapacity to participate in normative social interactions, bullying, abuse and violent assaults, which can, in the most grievous of circumstances, culminate in dire outcomes. Conclusion We conclude that the predicaments depicted in the film are pervasive across the African expanse. These challenges ought to be recognised as transgressions against intrinsic human rights. Importantly, the extant regional action plan addressing albinism in Africa neglects the integration of a thorough gender-sensitive paradigm, especially concerning the nuances of motherhood and its confluence with albinism. Contribution This cinematic analysis offers a transformative paradigm for apprehending the experiences of mothers nurturing children with albinism within the African milieu.