also featured in National Geographic:
Burrnesha
In times when women had a prescribed role,
burrnesha gave up their sexual, reproductive and
social identities to acquire the same freedoms as men.
They could dress as men, be head of the household,
move freely in social situations, and take
work traditionally open only to men.
National Geographic estimated in 2002 that
there were fewer than 102 Albanian sworn virgins left.
As of 2022, while there were no exact figures,
twelve burrnesha were estimated to
remain in Northern Albania and Kosovo.
director: lukas tielke
dop: jens wirtzfeld
photography: andre josselin
producing: jack donald
