In northern Albania, families who have lost their male patriarch can name a woman from the family to take his place. She vows to keep her virginity forever and starts dressing, working and living like a man. Over the years, she merges so much with her role that she is outside the family no longer recognized as a woman.
Pepa Hristova visited the last men-women in Europe. Her series Sworn Virgins is now published as a book by Kehrer Verlag, edited by F. C. Gundlach. The collectors edition contains, in addition to the book, two prints.
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© Pepa Hristova/ Sworn Virgins
