Discrimination In Africa

Discrimination is any action that denies a person of social participation or human rights. Contrary to popular belief that discrimination occurs only in the western world, it occurs in all parts of the world - including Africa. A lot of people in Africa are victims of discrimination due to their gender, age, skin color, disability, and many others.

Oftentimes, in Africa, widows, women accused of being witches and old women are forced to seek refuge in witch camps to save themselves from being abused or discriminated by society. It is very disheartening that such inhumane acts still thrive in the modern-day.

There's no denying the fact that discrimination is very rampant also in workplaces. Many employees and even job applicants experience discrimination based on disability, tribal and religious affiliation, gender and the like. It is baffling that employees with the same qualifications receive unequal salaries, benefits or compensations.

During job advertisements, certain desired traits that are unrelated to the applicant's ability to perform the expected duties are sometimes required. This act of discrimination hinders many people from applying for certain job opportunities, hence, increasing the rate of unemployment amongst certain groups of people. Furthermore, some employers even render discriminatory treatments when laying off or promoting employees.

Discrimination in Africa is also far-flung against the disabled. Few educational institutions, churches and government institutions make provisions for disabled people to access their facilities with little or no difficulty. Consequently, most disabled people struggle a lot when they want to access such facilities. Also, in some communities, infants who show signs of disability are usually put to death since they're perceived as bad luck.

Discrimination against certain tribes and religions is also common in many parts of the continent. Certain minority tribes are often discriminated against in events of job applications and many others. Some families don't even allow their children to marry or even make friends with people from certain tribes. People in certain religious denominations are sometimes discriminated in various ways: Muslim ladies at certain workplaces are prevented from wearing headscarves, etc.

To curb this menace, all people in the society should be regarded as equal regardless of their disability, age, gender, tribal or religious affiliations, etc. This will ensure that all humans enjoy the same privileges, promote development, and help the continent in reaching domestic tranquility.

As discrimination remains a social canker in Africa, it is pivotal that we contribute to nipping it in the bud as a panacea to enable the continent to achieve social equality, promote the development and domestic tranquility.