WUNRN
ALBANIA - SWORN VIRGINS - FEMALES AT
EARLY AGE TAKE ON MALE SOCIAL IDENTITY FOR LIFE
"Sworn Virgin" is the term given to a biological female in the
Balkans, as in Albania, 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”. This practice continues today but as
modernization inches toward the small villages, this archaic tradition is
increasingly seen as obsolete. Only a few aging Sworn Virgins remain.”
