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the sworn virgins of Albania

Check out this powerful article about how women in Albania used to enter into a pledge of chastity in order to be treated as well as Albanian men. My favorite line of the piece?

“The tradition of the sworn virgin can be traced to the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini, a code of conduct passed on orally among the clans of northern Albania for more than 500 years. Under the Kanun, the role of a woman 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.”