Sworn Virgins of Albania a documentary by Jill Peters
«Sworn
Virgin" is the term given to a biological female in the Balkans
who has chosen, usually at an early age, to take on the social
identity of a man for life. As a tradition dating back hundreds of
years, this was sometimes necessary in a society that lived within
tribal clans, followed the Kanun, an archaic code of law, and
maintained an oppressive rule over the female gender. The Kanun
states that women are the property of their husbands. The freedom to
vote, drive, conduct business, earn money, drink, smoke, swear, own a
gun or wear pants was traditionally the exclusive province of men.
Young girls were commonly forced into arranged marriages, often with
much older men in distant villages. A family suddenly without a
patriarch or male heir would find themselves in jeopardy of losing
everything.
As
an alternative, becoming a Sworn Virgin, or 'burnesha"
elevated a woman to the status of a man and granted her all the
rights and privileges of the male population. In order to manifest
the transition such a woman cut her hair, donned male clothing and
sometimes even changed her name. Male gestures and swaggers
were practiced until they became second nature. Most importantly
of all, she took a vow of celibacy to remain chaste for life. She
became a "he".
Sworn
Virgins still exist today, but as modernization inches towards the
small villages nestled in the Albanian Alps, this archaic tradition
is increasingly seen as obsolete. Only a handful remain.»