Model Thando Hopa helping to defeat prejudice against albinos
Albino South African model helping to defeat prejudice against condition across a continent
As a child with albinism, Thando Hopa was called names by her peers and regarded with superstition by the elderly.
"Some saw me as good luck," she says, "and some saw me as bad luck." Recently all eyes were on Hopa again. This time she was striding confidently down the catwalk and earning accolades as South Africa's new face of fashion and "fashion's new colour".
Hopa, 23, is among a growing number of models with albinism challenging prejudice on a continent where the genetic condition, a lack of pigmentation, which affects the eyes, hair and skin, can lead to discrimination and even death.
Hopa grew up south of Johannesburg, with constant reminders to wear hats and sunscreen to protect her sensitive skin. A full-time legal prosecutor, she had no thoughts of modelling until a chance meeting with the fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee at a shopping mall.
"He said, 'Hi miss, are you interested in modelling?' I was open to it. SA fashion week was an overwhelming experience, a different world altogether with so much creativity," Hopa said.
One in 4,000 people in South Africa has albinism. They suffer prejudice from employers and lack of recognition by government, activists say.