The Sworn Virgins

"At the time, it was better to be a man than to be a woman, because women were on the same level as animals" explains Pashe Keqi in a recent article in La Stampa about an old Albanian custom (original article on page 17 of La Stampa from June 29th, 2008). What Pashe means is the history of the "sworn virgins", woman who vowed to essentially become men. The tradition first started about 500 years ago, and today there are still 40 women living who went through their whole lives with all the rights and duties of a man.

In a country rife with conflicts and wars, families were often left without a male to fend for them. But since the women had no rights and thus could not take on the jobs needed to sustain a family, a man was needed as the head of family.

In such cases, an unmarried, virginal woman could be chosen to take on the role of the patriarch of the family. She would be allowed to bear arms, to work, and to move in the public sphere. In return, she would have to dress as a male and live as a male for her entire life. Though this did not go so far as to officially change the name or to have gender reassignment surgery, the women were regarded as and respected like men. In return, they had to renounce their gender and sexuality. Relationships and children were not an option.

My mother showed me this article a couple of weeks ago, because she was amazed with how much the women in the accompanying pictures looked like the men they had been living as. But what amazed me when I read the article was the double-standard inherent in the practice. Women are treated like animals, but as soon as they trade their skirt in for a pair of pants and cut off their hair, they not only look like men, but are capable of doing everything the men are doing. So, what, the power lies in the pants? Or isn't it rather that the women are inherently just as capable, and are denied their rights based on random misogyny? These women took charge, earned the money to feed the family, handled all of the family affairs and became active within the community. Some of them even went out and avenged the deaths of the males they had replaced. Yet, had they not vowed to 'become' males, they would have been denied all of this on the basis that they were female and thus weak/incapable/whatever.

I mean, I think it's awesome there was a way for women to take care of their families in times like that. It just seems so unnecessary to symbolically turn them into males, first.

[As I am writing this, there's a commercial on TV for Always - but not once during the ad are feminine hygiene products mentioned. The general gist of what was said was this: "sure, we know these aren't the happiest day of the month for you. we get that. but this is how our bodies work. it's just nature's way of telling us we're healthy and everything is as it should be. so take some time off. pamper yourself. take care of yourself." So, sure, pads floated through the picture, but they took on the shape of an umbrella, a bathtub, a soft bed. I'm in awe! This is possibly the coolest period-y commercial I've ever seen, and even marginally cooler than the Fun Facts About Menstruation that Always has been printing on the wrappers the pads come in.]