TresSugar

Powersuit of Tradition: Sworn Virgins In Albania Are Dwindling

CitizenSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:05:57 -0700

In Albania, gender equality has a literal meaning - and a less modern, more traditional translation that your 9 to 5 or Working Girl tropes. For centuries, sworn virginity has allowed woman to live as men, with all the responsibilities and rights that accompany the role in a conservative society.

In closed-off rural northern Albania, the practice of swapping genders was a practical solution motivated by social necessity, for a family with a shortage of men. One woman decided to make the change after her father was killed leaving no male heir. The custom she chose requires a vow of lifetime virginity - in exchange for living as a man with all the authority the gender commands - including the obligation to avenge her father’s death. Though she says she wouldn't necessarily do it now, then it was an easy decision:

Back then, it was better to be a man because before a woman and an animal were considered the same thing. Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men, and are even more powerful. I think today it would be fun to be a woman.

With sexual equality and modern trappings seeping into Albania (including MTV which popped in after the fall of the Berlin Wall) the tradition is fading. Not needing to make the vow to own property, move freely, or avoid an arranged marriage, now there are only about 40 sworn virgins remaining. The decision not only created equality in life, it created equality in worth. A woman is worth is half that of a man, but a virgin is worth the same as a man - 12 oxen.

The changes of modern times don't sit well with all the sworn virgins. To see why, read more.

One, who served as a senior army officer, grumbles that women do not know their place.

Today women go out half naked to the disco. I was always treated my whole life as a man, always with respect. I can’t clean, I can’t iron, I can’t cook. That is a woman’s work.

The remaining few are well respected for their sacrifice. One sums up her life on the border between genders saying:

I guess you could say I was partly a woman and partly a man. I liked my life as a man. I have no regrets.

It's a sacrifice perhaps not on par with donning a shoulder-padded 80s powersuit in the quest for gender equality, but not without its own message about the role of femininity and authority - that shunning sexuality brings power. Do we require female leaders to participate in a tacit subtle version of this custom still? Are femininity and authority mutually exclusive?

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Front Page: Osama bin Laden Fine, Mugabe, Missile Defense

CitizenSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:00:08 -0700

Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, says Osama bin Laden is alive and doing very well in a recording just released. In the 104-minute recording posted on the Internet, al-Zawahri said, “Sheik Osama bin Laden is in good health. The ill-intentioned always try to circulate false reports about him being sick.” He then went on to call the UN an enemy of Islam and promised more attacks saying, "we promise our Muslim brothers that we will do our utmost to strike Jews in Israel and abroad with help and guidance from God.” As a finale to the piece, he defended al-Qaeda's mission saying, “We do not kill the innocent. We fight those who kill the innocent - the Americans, the Jews, the Russians, the French and their agents.”

In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe says that he's ready to compete in a runoff election. This statement comes after the opposition candidate has declared victory and the opposition party has squeaked out a win of more parliamentary seats - though the official results showed that Mugabe's party won the popular vote. Independent counts are showing that the opposition candidate may indeed have won, 49 percent to Mugabe's 42 percent, but unless a candidate wins over 50 percent, a runoff is needed. The deputy information minister said, "President Mugabe is going to fight to the last, and he's not giving up, he's not going anywhere, he hasn't lost the election."
Amid debates over Afghanistan at the NATO summit, President Bush has won support for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe, despite Russian objections. The plan adopted states, ''ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to allied forces, territory and populations," and mentions the protection of allies to be provided by a US-led system. Bush however lost his appeal for the Ukraine and Georgia to be granted membership due to a block by Greece. Albania and Croatia were extended invitations to join.

Headline: Kosovo Declares Independence From Serbia

LibertySugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:00:14 -0800

Kosovo officially declared independence from Serbia on Sunday. Kosovo, the seventh state to emerge from the former Yugoslavia, worked with international actors, in hopes to be accepted into the international community. On Monday, President Bush gave his approval and signaled that full recognition will come soon. Europe is divided on whether to recognize the new country. Spain, Russian, and China have expressed concern over the secession.

Officially a province of Serbia, Kosovo has been under UN jurisdiction since 1999 when NATO threw out the Serbian government. Serbia, a strong ally of Russia, believes the succession is illegal, and will lower diplomatic relations with the countries that extend recognition. Out of the 2 million residents of Kosovo, 130,000 are ethnic Serbians. Convincing this minority to accept and participate in an independent Kosovo will be a significant challenge. Ethnic Albanians make up the majority of the population.

In 1991, Kosovo declared its independence, to no avail. Albania was the only country to recognize it.
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