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Tradition of `sworn virgins' dying out in Albania
Drene Markgjoni spent 12 years in a hard-labor camp, punished for her fiance's attempt to flee Albania's regime, then one of the world's most repressive and isolationist. She swore she would never suffer like that for somebody else again.
She pledged to forgo sex and marriage for the rest of her life, and declared herself a man.
That was six decades ago. Now 85, with close-cropped white hair, dressed in a man's blue striped shirt and black trousers, she greets visitors with a manly handshake. The way she walks, her confident gestures, everything about her is masculine.
Only her voice — soft and feminine — reveals her to be one of the last sworn virgins in Albania: Women who dress, act and are treated as men.
"I am happier like this," she says. "I don't regret it at all. Not a hair on my head does."
In this strongly patriarchal society where for centuries women had virtually no standing, sworn virgins enjoyed the same rights and respect as men. They could inherit property, work for a living and sit on the village council, although without the right to vote.
The privileges came at a price. They took an oath of celibacy and could never have sexual relations. And they could never go back to being women.
There are no official figures, but Antonia Young, a research fellow at the University of Bradford in Britain who has studied the practice for more than a decade, estimates that Albania had about 100 sworn virgins in the early 1990s. That number is now almost certainly much lower, as the practice and the women die out.
The reasons for becoming a sworn virgin can be practical — the head of the family dies with no male heir. Or they can be emotional — the woman does not want to marry the man chosen for her.
In Albania, particularly in the impoverished rural north, it was practically inconceivable for a woman to remain single and live alone. Drene Markgjoni spent 12 years in a hard-labor camp, punished for her fiance's attempt to flee Albania's regime, then one of... more -
Country Fast Facts: Albania
Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents.
Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997.
In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.
Albania has played a largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the global war on terrorism. Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has p... more -
Sworn to virginity and living as men in Albania
"Pashe Keqi recalls the day nearly sixty years ago when she decided to become a man. She chopped off her long black curls, traded in her dress for her father's baggy trousers, armed herself with a hunting rifle and vowed to forsake marriage, children and sex.
Had she been born in Albania today, says the 78-year-old sworn virgin, who made an oath of celibacy in return for the right to live and rule her family as a man, she would choose womanhood.
"Back then, it was better to be a man because, before, a woman and an animal were considered the same thing," says Keqi, who has a bellowing baritone voice, sits with her legs open wide like a man and relishes downing shots of Raki and smoking cigarettes. "Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men and are even more powerful, and I think today it would be fun to be a woman."
Sworn virgins became the patriarchs of their families, with all the trappings of male authority, by swearing to remain virgins for the rest of their lives.
The ritual was a form of self-empowerment for rural women living in a desperately poor and macho country that was cut off from mainstream Europe for decades under a Stalinist dictatorship. But in Albania today, with Internet dating and MTV, the custom is all but disappearing. Girls no longer want to become boys.
The tradition of the sworn virgin can be traced to the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini, a code of conduct that has been passed on orally among the clans of northern Albania for more than five centuries. Under the Kanun, the role of women is severely circumscribed: Take care of children and maintain the home. While a woman's life is worth half that of a man, a virgin's value is the same - 12 oxen.
The sworn virgin was born of social necessity in an agrarian region plagued by war and death. If the patriarch of the family died with no male heirs, unmarried women in the family could find themselves alone and powerless. By taking an oath of virginity, women could take on the role of men as head of the family, carry a weapon, own property and move freely.
They dress like men, adopt a male swagger and spend their lives in the company of other men.
Some also took the vow as a means to avoid an arranged marriage. Still others became sworn virgins to express their autonomy. Some who regretted the sacrifice transformed themselves back into women and married later in life.
"Stripping off their sexuality by pledging to remain virgins was a way for these women in a male-dominated, segregated society to engage in public life," says Linda Gusia, a professor of gender studies at the University of Pristina in Kosovo. "It was about surviving in a world where men rule"."
By Dan Bilefsky "Pashe Keqi recalls the day nearly sixty years ago when she decided to become a man. She chopped off her long black curls, traded... more -
Albania orgoglio e pregiudizio
Una breve istantanea di un viaggio nel Paese delle aquile, per raccontare un popolo fiero ed orgoglioso, che per molti sembra provenire da un pianeta lontano e che invece è là, dall'altra parte del mare. Una breve istantanea di un viaggio nel Paese delle aquile, per raccontare un popolo fiero ed orgoglioso, che per molti sembra provenir... more
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ALBANIA: W IL NUCLEARE ITALIANO
L'Albania dice sì al nucleare italiano.
"Il nostro Paese è aperto all'energia atomica. Aperto a chiunque. Non ne ho ancora parlato col governo italiano, perché quello precedente era antinucleare. Con Berlusconi invece cambia tutto". Parole del premier albanese Sali Berisha L'Albania dice sì al nucleare italiano. ... more -
Deadlock Over Kosovo
Ethnic Albanian authorities in Priština say that their new constitution will take effect in the province's entire territory, while the EU intends to deploy its own "EULEX" mission there. However, this mission is highly controversial and not based on any UN Security Council decision. At the same time, there has been no decision to withdraw the current UN mission, UNMIK, while it seems that EULEX will be postponed.
For this reason, warnings have been sent out that such a situation can become very complicated and dangerous, including some kind of a "radical" expression of dissatisfaction, both from the ethnic Albanians who want UNMIK to leave, and the Serbs who are rejecting the self-proclaimed authorities in Priština.
The European Union and the United Nations are very worried, but remain unable to agree on how to act in Kosovo.
How much longer will this take? It's already been 619 years since the original Battle of Kosovo... Ethnic Albanian authorities in Priština say that their new constitution will take effect in the province's entire territory, whil... more -
CORRIDOIO OTTO
VIAGGIO SULLE MONTAGNE ALBANESI AL CONFINE CON IL kOSOVO.
...voglio sapere chi mi separa da una terra impazzita
e che fine faranno la mia Ombra oltre l'acqua
la pioggia che cade nella pioggia
e gli Dèi fra gli alberi
in fila accanto al freddo e al destino
attendo che mi chiamino all'alba dalle pietre
volti pallidi di voci arrochite
il mo nome è una linea che divide
la luce dall'oscurità
il mio corpo misura tra la sabbia e il cielo
(Versi tratti da "Stimmate" del poeta albanese Gezim Haidari) VIAGGIO SULLE MONTAGNE ALBANESI AL CONFINE CON IL kOSOVO. ...voglio sapere chi mi separa da una terra impazzita ... more -
Cat and mouse black out city
A cat chasing a mouse in Tirana's main power station caused a 72-hour blackout across parts of the Albanian capital. The two animals ran into the high-voltge cables and got electrocuted.
Albanians complain bitterly about the power cuts that have plagued them for decades, and are mostly blamed on drought and the dilapidation of the communist-era grid. A cat chasing a mouse in Tirana's main power station caused a 72-hour blackout across parts of the Albanian capital. The two anim... more -
Jews sheltered by Muslims during WW 2 honoured
Albanian Muslims from Waterbury's Albanian-American community were guests of honour at a Jewish Holocaust rememberance program (Yom HaShoah). This event told the stories from the rescuers and the rescued.
Dr. Anna Kohen, representing the rescued, was born in Albania (a Muslim majority country)and after Hitler invaded Albania, her parents fled to hide in a Muslim village.
"Everyone in the village knew we were Jews," she said, "but no one betrayed us. What I remember is what my parents told me: They were very nice to us, they fed us, they saved us.
Sazan Hoxha, representing one of the rescuers, told about her father who sheltered 4 Jewish families.
"Our parents were devout Muslims and believed, as we do, that 'every knock on the door is a blessing from God,'" said her brothers Hamid and Xhema Veseli. "We never took any money from our Jewish guests. All persons are from God. Besa exists in every Albanian soul."
"Our home is first God's house, second our guest's house, and third our family's house," explained Drita Veseli. "The Koran teaches us that all people, Jews, Christians, Muslims, are under one God."
Its stories like these which give us reason for hope... peace is possible. Albanian Muslims from Waterbury's Albanian-American community were guests of honour at a Jewish Holocaust rememberance program (Y... more -
Albanian arms dump blast kills 9, injures 243
An army base stocking obsolete munitions destined for destruction detonated a chain of massive explosions yesterday, killing at nine people and injuring more than 240. Nearby villages and passing cars were hit by shockwaves from the blast, which began as workers moved stocks of bombs, bullets and shells stored at the base, a collection point for the arsenal amassed by Albania's Stalinist-era dictatorship. The process of dismantling the 100,000 tonnes of 40-year-old weapons has been a condition of the country's hoped-for membership to NATO.
The force of the explosion was so strong that it was felt at the seaside resort of Durres, 20km away. People living in the nearby village of Gerdec took shelter in concrete bunkers while others fled to the hills. It even shattered windows in an airport several miles away forcing an evacuation.
A Reuters cameraman described people trying to escape: "Terrified people are leaving the area on foot along the highway, women and children. Cars with broken windows have been abandoned on the highway." An army base stocking obsolete munitions destined for destruction detonated a chain of massive explosions yesterday, killing at nine p... more -
Kosovo the new Israel?
Please pardon the parallelism, I'm aware there is no connection between the two plights, but I wonder if the US/UK support, military occupation of the border, and Kosovo's geopolitical advantage makes it a prime candidate for US nation building and dominance in the region. Can anyone else draw parallels with the creation of Israel in 1948 or make a distinct case for the difference?
Should the US even be involved? Russia has already threatened to send military troops to the border to confront the US and NATO forces. Is the US ready to fight for this one? Should the US take a diplomatic neutrality stance instead?
Please make me understand the difference. Please pardon the parallelism, I'm aware there is no connection between the two plights, but I wonder if the US/UK support, milit... more -
Man's death highlights plight of Albania's adult orphans
Renato Kaleshi, aged 35, who was raised in Albanian state orphanages, died of pneumonia on 12 February in Vlora after living for years in conditions of misery.
The degrading and unhygienic accommodation in which Renato Kaleshi lived and died highlights the failure of the Albanian state to fulfil its legal obligations to ensure that orphans, when they reach adulthood, have access to adequate housing and to assistance and protection.
Renato Kaleshi had been paralyzed since childhood, allegedly following a fall which occurred while he was under state care in an orphanage, and since 1993 had relied on a wheelchair for mobility. He also suffered from heart problems. For the last 11 years, he had been living in squalid conditions in the semi-derelict former residence hall of the Commercial School in Vlora, together with nine other adults orphaned in childhood (adult orphans).
The group live in great poverty in this building, which is infested with mice, reeks of drains and has broken windows. They have no individual privacy, sharing two or three rooms between them. Nor do they have any security of tenure. The building is now private property and the owner is reported to have asked them to leave. The municipal authorities, who are primarily responsible for ensuring alternative adequate accommodation, have repeatedly failed to do so. Renato Kaleshi, aged 35, who was raised in Albanian state orphanages, died of pneumonia on 12 February in Vlora after living for years... more -
From Refugee to Immigrant: A Story of Three Kosovar Albanian Americans
From 1999-2003 JEMGLO produced a documentary entitled From Refugee to Immigrant: A Story of Three Kosovar Albanian Americans. Broadcast in the US on about 25% of the PBS market as well as internationally on Albanian cable TV channel 21, premiered at the United Nations, and reviewed in The New York Times, the documentary focused on three refugees who had come to the US during the war. With their distinctive personalities sparking a range of reactions, Bekim, Gentian and Plator struggled with the memories of their experiences during the ethnic cleansing of the Albanians by the Serbs, the bare subsistence to which their loved ones back home had been reduced, and their need to integrate into American society. From 1999-2003 JEMGLO produced a documentary entitled From Refugee to Immigrant: A Story of Three Kosovar Albanian Americans. Broadca... more
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Celebrating in the streets in Kosovo
The weather forecast for Kosovo today is heavy snow, but chilly weather is far from the mind of most, as today the province will proclaim independence from Serbia, ending years of bitter recrimination and threats from both sides. In the bloody Albanian uprising ten years ago this week, thousands of civilians were murdered, prompting Western forces including Britain to bomb Serbia in attempts to quell the violence. Since 1991, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro have each asserted self-rule, and slipped from Serbia's territory. Kosovo's declaration will come at 3.00 pm (2 pm British time). Short video report at the link. The weather forecast for Kosovo today is heavy snow, but chilly weather is far from the mind of most, as today the province will procl... more
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Crisis Looms Over Kosovo Independence
European governments struggled to find agreement yesterday on how to respond to the looming crisis over Kosovo independence on the day that almost two years of negotiations between Kosovo Albanian leaders and the Serbian government were declared dead.
As thousands of ethnic Albanians rallied in the Kosovo capital, Pristina, to demand prompt support for Kosovo statehood, Wolfgang Ischinger, the German diplomat who chaired futile negotiations between the two sides over the past four months, briefed EU foreign ministers in Brussels and sought to marshal a consensus behind European recognition of Kosovo over the next couple of months. Diplomats said the EU was split three ways between those who backed an independent Kosovo, those who opposed it, and those who advocated a tougher EU policy against Serbia. European governments struggled to find agreement yesterday on how to respond to the looming crisis over Kosovo independence on the day... more
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