News UK
The last ‘sworn virgins’ of Albania – BBC News
The Balkan ‘burrnesha’ tradition is a centuries old practice in which women swear an oath of celibacy and choose to live their lives as men.
These women are known as the burrneshat, or ‘sworn virgins’.
The practice historically allowed women to shed their traditional gender role, to enjoy many of the same freedoms as men, in return for their chastity.
Today, only a handful of sworn virgins are left in the world.
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#Albania #Women #BBCNews
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The state of ceasefire talks between the US and Iran has been thrown into question, after American forces launched fresh strikes …
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The government of Iran has restored some access to the internet this week, after a lengthy blackout imposed on and off, for most of this year. Many Iranians are celebrating the move, which has allowed some people to contact friends and family members abroad for the first time in weeks. It could also be a lifeline for Iranians who depend on digital platforms to earn a living.
There is speculation that the move could be intended to show US President Donald Trump that the regime is willing to make some compromises at home.
But digital monitoring groups say the level of internet access is still poorer than it was before Tehran imposed its blackouts, first as a response to mass protests in January, and again at the start of the war with the US and Israel. Access to some sites is still blocked and analysts say two-factor authentication is not available in Iran, impeding many people’s access to platforms like Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Reha Kansara, from the BBC’s Global Disinformation Unit, tells us what restrictions Iranians still face, how people are trying to get around them, and how this partial restoration of internet access could play into the ceasefire talks between Tehran and Washington.
New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT
And you can find more of our YouTube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast
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#TechNews #Iran #Trump #HumanRights #IranWar #BBCNews
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Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews
For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news
#BBCNews
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The public health risk from the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been raised from “high” to “very high” by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In an update on Friday, WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the risk in the wider region in Africa was “high”, but it remained “low” globally.
The rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected. So far, the outbreak centred on DR Congo has resulted in 177 suspected deaths and 750 suspected cases.
It comes as scientists at Oxford University in the UK are developing a new vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months.
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#Ebola #Virus #BBCNews
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Warning: contains details of alleged sexual offences and misconduct
Senior staff on Married at First Sight UK had an “unhealthy” focus on whether cast members were having sex, former workers on the show have told BBC News.
Producers would deliberately try to make contestants angry or upset for the sake of generating watchable drama, they say.
The former workers on the Channel 4 show have spoken to the BBC following a Panorama investigation into Married at First Sight UK (MAFS UK). Two former cast members say they were raped by their on-screen partners, and a third alleged a non-consensual sex act. Their on-screen partners have denied all the allegations against them.
Lawyers for CPL, the production company which makes MAFS UK, say the latest allegations are from a small minority of former workers, and the company’s “commitment to welfare… is evidenced by the high consecutive return rate of crew across the MAFS series”.
Channel 4 says contributor welfare is “always our primary concern across all productions”.
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#MAFS #BBCNews
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@reziandoni6364
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
A lot of people struggle to understand the sworn virgin concept.
In ancient Albanian village each fis had the right of one representative in the village council. The representatives could only be man.
Fis is a very large family all having the same last name.
When all the men of one fis died (war or disease) by law/custom the family stopped to exist. All the women children had to be distributed to other families. The only condition for the family (fis) to exist was for them to have a representative in the village council which was mandatory. So the only way for that to happen was for a women of the family to swear not to marry and stay will men all the time and participate in the village council.
So it is a very ancient form of democracy. Mandatory representation in village council for each family. Even the families without biological males had a voice.
The concept is still alive today. The US senate today has two representatives from each state regardless of the states population.
@misternikq3824
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Albanians practically invented the LGTBTQ+ society lol
@besjanaselmani3972
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Good intention documentary but wrong approach, with misleading title-translation.
The primary intetion is not sexuality but rights.
The primary intention is not celibacy, but having the same rights as a man by becoming a man, let’s say a natural trans. U are a biological woman, but act and dress as a man to take care of the family matters because they don’t have a male heir, and as a woman u could be in danger or expected to be married. But when u took an oath to become a man or better say a manly woman hence “ burrneshe” ( burre
mean, the neshewoman adjective), as a “man of the house” recognized by the law kanun-the unofficial but very much bindin law).@illiryansforeveralbanian5020
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
What does sworn virgin mean ?i know what burrnesh mean a brave women strong like a men wrong translate I think
@albionalla5027
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
“Burr” in Albanian Lea gauge is called man. Burrnesh mean a woman to be considered as a man between other man’s and to have their privileges in that area. Burrnesh does not translate sworn virgin or it doesn’t not have same meaning. To be burrnesh or woman considered same as a man on the community did not come as a easy choice it was more often for the woman’s wich there was no man to represent a family tree because of wars or blood feuds
@vreader6523
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
There is the normal and the abnormal. Everywhere is running an LGBTQ propaganda campaign and when I see it, I feel sick.🤮
@rrt3434
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Such a good documentary well done to this journalist.burrnesh defines all strong and independent women in Albania, any women who can speak up its smart and brake we call it burrnesh , Albania went throw a hard times in centris wars and all that , women didt have access not bc of the men stopped them but there wasn’t right conditions for them , kanuni i lek dukagjinit had very stick laws that were written on this book that women were very protected even if you compare with the laws now days …..
@franclizi2560
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Saddly Lali Rakipi hahe died from covid and we respected Lali to much in Durres. I hope Lali is near God bcs she had a beatiful soul
@hfredydl
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Lesbians … there shortened it for you
@blackcat.19
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
This is definitely a twisted story that shows the representation is not entirely accurate. Women in Albanian tradition took the role of a man for many reasons and this tradition goes back millennia. One reason is if the men died in war or there were no males in the family anymore. One of the girls decided to act like a man and represent the family. It was not oppression of women that made these women want to take male roles in the family. Women in general had very little rights just like everywhere else in a patriarchal society until the 20th century. Moreover, during blood feuds, women took male roles since Kanun protected them from harm. Another reason is if they were not fit to be married such as having disabilities or difficulties to create a family or raise one. We are talking here about survival and building the next generation. Why would Albanian men allow women among them as an equal if the women were oppressed? And burrnesh could simply mean Manlike and not sworn virgins. A lot of mistakes here from BBC.
@ilirlluka6789
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
I am not sure if "sworn virgins" encompasses the correct translation of the word "burrnesha" in English. OF course, that is not a wrong translation but somehow it captures only some superficial parts of the psycho-social catharsis these women went through in their lives, surely not even an Albanologue could create a perfect translation but the issue I have with "sworn virgins" is that it somehow still retains a feministic sense in regard to the transformation, the sexual aspect is only a small part of it that is why the "virginity", sworn or otherwise, is to me irrelevant here, you can be a sworn virgin and still be a woman in the social connotation of the word (because biologically speaking they are and will always be women of course), if I would have to invent a word in English (as there is no current literal translation in the English language) that would be something akin to "manwoman", although I fear that in the English-speaking world it might be mistaken for some kind of transgender-related expression (which it's not), but as a native Albanian speaker but also an English speaker since early childhood, that would be to me a better translation than the "sworn virgin".
Burre = Man, the (e) at the end falls during the connection with "nesha" which is the appendix for the "woman" part of the entire expression. Burrnesha – Manwomen.
They became men, they dressed as men, they lived as men, they were fiercer than men, they could kill men in the ways men killed, and they sacrificed their feminism for the possibility to live in a harsh world where women could not survive as such by themselves, but it goes beyond even this, it takes a meaning that is connected to honor, it is as though they did not just become men, they became men of honor. They had to be honored as men of honor would have had to have been honored.
I'm sure I am going into a linguistical rabbit hole here, but being an Albanian myself and knowing what it means, I struggle to find a better word or expression that could relate that human concept to the rest of the world. I live in a part of Albania (Tirana) where this social catharsis was unknown as this happened mostly in the North (but not only) where the concept of honor and that of "kanun" existed as legal constructions in relations between individuals, and it still does in some parts.
It is a harsh environment, if I would have to compare it to some other parts of the world with a similar social environment, would probably be the Scottish Highlands, that harshness is something that only those who have lived deep in the mountains know.
@sirairili1570
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
I dont the buy that the reason for them wanting to become men is due to that in the past they were lacking rights. Just look at the modern world (or even Albania today) there is many women that want to be men.
Edit: and why is there so many comments that seem to have been brought..? Is BBC buying comments lol?
@dhomtepushkes
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
We still call brave women Burnesha
(has nothing to do with virginity or whatsoever).
🦅🇽🇰❤️🇦🇱 Rrnofshi sa malet Burnesha ✋️
@dhomtepushkes
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
We still call brave women Burnesha
(has nothing to do with virginity or whatsoever).
🦅🇽🇰❤️🇦🇱 Rrnofshi sa malet Burnesha ✋️
@adhasa6684
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
There a lot of this woman in Albanian don’t know why tho
@okunrin3
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
I have the utmost respect for people who stand up against wildly accepted injustices.
They are very brave people.
@2paranoid484
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
The BBC actually managed to do an honest documentary about Albania that doesn’t talk about mafia or immigration 😂
@Synergymations
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
When I was little, I lived in northwestern Albania, in Muriqan, my village.
Oh, how I remember it so vividly. The school was only big enough for 9 classes or so, since it was 2005. Parents trusted kids, we behaved a lot, and we adopted some dogs, and overall always had great times. No pollution, fresh water, it was great.
I'm just glad to see how Albania has grown, and I'm really happy.
@blueshirtman8875
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
I'm shocked, she's a beauty !
@beiruo6848
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
i think bbc english is very good for improving ones english
@MariaMartinez-xm4fl
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Time to update and let women live their life the way they want without renuncing to other rights!
@dramman-onlydramnodrama4845
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Truly trying my very best to avoid sexist, misogynistic comments based solely on superficial looks and the fact that nobody would swipe right for them. Damn, I failed!! 😢
@toutaipalu9116
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
🎭https://youtu.be/xxQCotQ6u2w
@alleshi5
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Mos ngaterroni traditen e Burrneshave edhe te shkaterrimit te femrave te coroditura e (kurvat) e sotme.
@zakkary77
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
According to old/ ancient albanian customs only male members of family had the right to inherit the name and the properties of the family , "burrnesha" its not exactly translated as "virgin woman" used to be a girl of a family which was left without a male as headfamily mostly due to widespread blood feud rivaries which might long for generations , had to declare herself as a "man" , wear clothes of man , behave like man , carry weapons as a man , associate with man , and never get married , so her family name and properties weren't transferred to other clan's members , this custom survives in northern albania to these days with few "burrnesha " alive , hope this comment helped somehow the public!
@stephansteohanlarsen7457
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
By the looks of them,can see why they are virgins
@auro1986
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
from virgins bbc gives birth to news
@mojavegreen2072
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Lovely story, lovely women!
@rholm5344
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
>>>>>>>>
Increase Your Satisfaction
By Understanding Your Existence … sea rch EXISTNC
@kaushikgoswami7480
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
We are always with neutral and intellectual media.
@firstname9811
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Well look at em, not hard to keep that promise. Its like the people at pro choice rallies, not one of em is going to get nailed by anyone, but swear they need a choice.
@stephanieyee9784
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
A remote community that allows some women to be sworn virgins and let them live as men is actually quite progressive.
Of course those girls who decide to follow a traditional woman's path of marriage, children and drudgery had no such freedoms.
@nickmanning3913
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Bahaha. BBC picked up this story as they thought it would push the gender natural narrative. I have lived in albania for many years….. believe me… nobody thinks this way. Haha it could not be further from the reality
@thetruthful8388
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Here is the best way to beat the licence fee:-
1.Stop your licence for a month or two.
2.Start your license after that period.
3. Watch all the programs you have missed on iplayer.
4. Repeat the above if you must.
@jjsc4396
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Extremely well produced and presented.
@RotBe1n
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
The worst translation of Burrnesh is sworn virgin.
@eddieash1669
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
It's amazing that the BBC is actually capable of some honest journalism.
@coolcat6103
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Really? This is news? Wtf
@bradentour3993
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
The West can't define a woman anymore.
@bethburn3237
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
We don’t really have to wonder if today they would make the same choice… their are only 12 left and soon none. Obvious they wouldn’t.
@sdighambar123
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Jai modi
@kissmyassdickhead9346
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
A sworn Virgin is like a nun who worship jesus christ and build a paradise for this land.
@stevie754
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
I'm regular, whatever that means, guy, but this little piece got my feminine side churning.
Well done, and thank you! Brava.
@user-tx2de1pg5s
December 30, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Mind-provoking brief introduction of the Albanian old tradition. Regardless of what reasons they opted for becoming sworn virgins and individual choices, they are respectful people. Happiness can be obtained through socialization. I ponder if Burneshat is a symbol of clasping people and snatching their freedom. They aren't hermits and they aren't required for seclusion.