Albania's sworn virgins - 28th July 2023

Since her early twenties, Gjystina Grishaj has been part of the 'burrnesha' or 'sworn virgin' tradition, an age-old cultural practice in Albania which allows women to support their loved ones by living as men.

Gjystina made the momentous decision to adopt the burrnesha role when her father passed away.

Gjystina Grishaj: "I was only 23 when my father died. There were six children in our family, a very poor family. My sister was already married. To help my mother and my family, I decided to become a sworn virgin.

Assuming the position of burrnesha has traditionally permitted women to carry out physically demanding tasks, such as chopping firewood, driving farm vehicles and tending livestock. In a deeply patriarchal society, the role also empowers the women to resolve significant family matters, an area usually out of bounds.

Grishaj, who's generally referred to by her pet name 'Duni' within the local community, also recognises the merits of being a burrnesha.

Gjystina Grishaj: "I hate cooking. I'd rather carry stones on my back all day, work the land, split logs. That's my job. I don't know anything about cooking."

While burrnesha are obliged to sacrifice the joys of a marital relationship and having children, Duni did escape an arranged marriage. Donning long trousers and a short hair-cut, she sipped brandy with her male counterparts in the local watering hole.

Issues of sexuality and gender identity are immaterial when it comes to the burrnesha custom, as anthropologist Afërdita Onuzi points out.

Afërdita Onuzi: "The decision to be a "burrnesha" (sworn virgin) has nothing to do with sexuality. It's simply a question of a different status in society, in a certain historical and cultural period."

The burrnesha culture's on the wane, with Albania's political and social transformation after the demise of communism. Duni, whose status as a sworn virgin was once highly regarded, now finds herself rattling around in the family's gloomy farmhouse. Drawn by the promise of a better life, her siblings and their offspring have relocated abroad, abandoning her to a solitary existence.

Gjystina Grishaj: "After all the sacrifices, it's my solitude that really weighs on me. They've all gone. There were a lot of us living in this big house, which has now been plunged into silence. I'm overwhelmed with grief, alone in this empty house."