BBC News Brasil Albania’s last ‘sworn virgins’ living like men 12/17/2022 10:49

In an old tradition in the Balkans, only a few women remained as young Albanian women struggled to end this practice.

For Gjystina Grishaj, “Albania was a man’s world and the only way to survive was to become one of them”.

He lived in the mountains of northern Albania and made a life-changing decision at the age of 23. He took a vow of celibacy and vowed to live the rest of his life as a man.

Grishaj’s family have lived in the Malësi and Madhe region of Lëpushë (northern Albania) for over a century. The place is a deep valley tucked between steep mountains and is one of the few regions where traditions are lived. – It is a centuries-old practice where women swear by the village elders and live like men.

These women are known burn – “sworn virgins”.

“There are a lot of single people in the world, but they are not. burn‘, explains Grishaj, who is now 57 years old.

“One Burmnesha He is devoted only to his family, his work, his life, and to preserve his purity.”

For many women born long ago, changing their sexual, reproductive and social identities was a way to gain freedoms that only men could experience.

to be Burmnesha allowed women to dress like men, act as heads of household, move freely in social situations, and take jobs that were traditionally open to men only.

Gjystina – or Duni as her closest friends knew – was an active, athletic young woman determined to be independent. She had never imagined having a traditional life like marriage, chores, or dressing up.

Instead, after her father’s death, she decided to become a sworn virgin so she could take over the family and work to support her financially.

“We were extremely poor… My father died, my mother had six children,” he says. “To make it easier for him, I decided to become one. Burmnesha and work hard.”

Grishaj lives in a remote village. Cell phone signal is messy at best. Severe winters cause snow to block the road to Lëpushë and cause blackouts.

He runs an inn, tills the land and looks after his animals. Aspect Burmnesha and the head of the family, Grishaj also practices the art of herbs to make medicinal teas and oils. He learned the technique from his father.

“He was very careful about herbs and passed the lessons to me. And I want my niece Valerjana to learn this practice even though she chose another path,” she says.

According to Valerjana Grishaj, “No one tries to be a sworn virgin nowadays”. “Young women don’t even think about being a sworn virgin. I’m a true example of that.”

Valerjana Grishaj grew up with her aunt in Lëpushë and realized that there were few options for women in the area. The expectation was to marry early.

“I always remember a time when I was in the sixth grade of elementary school. A friend of mine was in the ninth grade and was getting engaged. He was just 14 years old,” she recalls. “She said that her husband would not allow her to continue her education and that she should listen to her husband, stay by his side and obey him.”

Rather than marry early or become a sworn virgin, Valerjana Grishaj left her family home at the age of 16 to study theater directing and photography in Tirana, the Albanian capital.

“Girls and women in Tirana have more advantages and are freer.” says. “In the village, the situation is a disaster even today.”

endangered app

There is no exact number but it is estimated to be only 12. burn remains in northern Albania and Kosovo. Since the collapse of communism in the 1990s, Albania has witnessed societal changes that have brought more rights to women.

Valerjana Grishaj, burn something positive.

“We girls today don’t have to struggle to be boys,” she says. “We must fight for equal rights, but without men.”

In 2019, women’s rights activist Rea Nepravishta protested during International Women’s Day events in Tirana. took to the streets with a large banner emblazoned with the word She. Burmnesha He crossed it out with a big red cross. Below is the phrase “strong women”.

“In Albanian we use the term “strong” when we want to describe a woman as strong. Burmneshahe explains. “It’s a two-part word. ‘Burre’ means man… We shouldn’t talk about men to show women’s power.”

Nepravishta believes the country is on its way to opening up and has taken “many steps forward in a short time”.

According to UN Women, the United Nations Organization for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, women’s participation in political and economic decision-making in Albania has recently made progress with improvements in electoral laws and processes. Yet women’s participation remains limited and wage differentials have not been adequately addressed.

In 2017, 23% of MPs and 35% of local legislators were women.

There is still a long way to go on women’s rights. “Sexism, gender stereotypes … And unfortunately gender violence still exists on a large scale in Albania,” Nepravishta says.

UN Women’s data shows that around 60% of Albanian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced domestic violence. And the United Nations Database of Contracting Bodies reveals that only 8% of women own land and are still marginalized in matters of inheritance.

special case

roots of tradition burn It derives from the Law, an ancient constitution that was adopted in Kosovo and northern Albania in the 15th century and organized Albanian society. Under this patriarchal law, women were viewed as the property of their husbands.

According to ethnographer Aferdita Onuzi, “They had no right to decide their own destiny or to choose their own lives.” burn???????? “If a girl was to be engaged, everything was decided without question, not at what age to be engaged, not to whom she would be engaged.”

There are many misconceptions hanging over tradition. Being a sworn virgin was not normally a decision based on sexuality or gender identity, but was based on a special social status offered to those who took the oath.

According to Onuzi, “A girl’s decision to become a sworn virgin has nothing to do with sexuality”. “It’s just a choice to have another role, another position in the family.”

But becoming a burrnesha was also a way of escaping an arranged marriage without dishonoring the groom’s family. “This decision meant that they could avoid a bloody conflict between the two families,” says Onuzi.

The rules governing the bloody conflicts had long been codified in the Kanun, which helped bring order to the lives of the northern Albanian tribes, especially during their accession to the Ottoman Empire.

According to the Law, bloody conflicts were a social necessity for the preservation of honor. They can start with small acts such as threats and insults, but sometimes they can reach murder. The victim’s family can then seek justice by killing the murderer or another male member of the guilty party’s family.

For many young women of that time, the vow of celibacy avoided bloody conflicts. According to Onuzi, “It was an escape route”.

Traditions have evolved over time, turning forced decisions into active choices.

“It is very important to note the difference. burn classical and ethnographic burn up-to-date… At the moment it’s a purely personal decision”, explains Onuzi.

Gjystina Grishaj was not forced to become a burrnesha – she decided her life herself. Growing up in communist Albania, she realized that men had a lot more freedom back then.

“There have been many times when you thought you were unequal,” she says. “Women were very isolated, limited to housework and had no right to speak.”

Her family – especially her mother – disapproved of the decision, worrying that it was sacrificing her ability to be a mother and have a family of her own. For Grishaj, however, the sacrifice bore fruit. “I gained more respect when I decided to become Burrnesha,” she says.

As for the rest, they decided to be burn because they felt more like men.

“I’ve never been with women, I’ve always been with men. In bars, I smoke…” Drande says. Burmnesha A man who speaks of himself in a masculine way, living in the coastal town of Shengjin in northwest Albania. “I’ve always felt like a man.”

For Drande, adopting the practice was a way of enjoying men’s freedoms, such as smoking and drinking alcohol, rooted in women’s tradition. burn.

And these liberties included drinking traditional Albanian raki, which was historically restricted to men. Now, Drande not only drinks distillate, but also produces its own distillation.

When we come to interview him, he proudly shows off a fresh batch hidden in a plastic water bottle. “It will make you stronger,” she says.

Drande says she has decided to become one. Burmnesha more accepted by society.

“Wherever I went, I got special respect and it felt good,” she says. “I was respected as a man, not as a woman… I felt freer that way.”

He is proud of the sacrifices he has made to become Drande. BurmneshaIt also recognizes feelings of loneliness. He says he has doubts.

“I thought for a moment what it would be like if I had a child who could take care of me…” she says. “I was very sick and there was no one around to help me. But it was just a moment, a second.”

Faced with a society with limited options for women at the time, burn they saw the election as a form of empowerment. According to Onuzi, this was “a kind of protest that turned into a sacrifice”.

But by choosing to be men, they unintentionally reinforced gender norms and accepted the inferior role of women.

Even in Albania’s capital, life can be tough for young women these days. Valerjana Grishaj has created an online presence on social media to help promote women’s rights. But sending positive messages brought negative attention.

“I got a lot of messages from men, including threatening messages, questioning why I was talking about women’s rights,” she says.

Valerjana Grishaj takes pictures of her aunt and others burnas a way to document a dying tradition.

“I hope that future generations will be interested in it, as it is part of our history and traditions,” he says. “These days, you don’t have to be one Burmnesha to have freedom. As a modern woman, you don’t need to swear.”

Gjystina Grishaj doesn’t care about the price she pays for respect – sacrificing her feminine identity – she cares about the freedom her decision brings her.

“It won’t happen anymore burnI will be the last,” he says.

Although Grishaj doesn’t make the same decision today, he admits he would have done it all again if he could turn back time.

“I’m proud to be Burmnesha???????? I have no regrets.”

This report is part of the BBC 100 Women specialhighlights 100 inspiring and influential women around the world every year.

– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63984582.