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 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. 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.

She chopped off her long black curls, traded her dress for her father's baggy trousers, armed herself with a rifle and vowed to forsake marriage, children and sex. For centuries, in the closed-off society of rural northern Albania, swapping genders was considered a practical solution for a family with a shortage of men. Her father was killed in a blood feud, and there was no male heir. By custom, Keqi, now 78, took a vow of lifetime virginity. She lived as the new patriarch, with all the swagger and trappings of male authority.

For centuries, in the closed-off and conservative society of rural northern Albania, swapping genders was considered a practical solution for a family with a shortage of men. Her father was killed in a blood feud, and there was no male heir. By custom, Ms.

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