Overview
A woman becomes a sworn virgin by swearing an irrevocable oath, in front of 12 village or tribal elders, to practice celibacy. Then she is allowed to live as a man. She will then be able to dress in male clothes, use a male name, carry a gun, smoke, drink alcohol, take on male work, act as the head of a household (for example, living with a sister or mother), play music and sing, and sit and talk socially with men.
A woman can become a sworn virgin at any age, either to satisfy her parents or herself.
The sworn virgin is believed to be the only formal, socially defined female-to-male cross-gender and cross-dressing role in Europe. Similar practices occur in some native American tribes in North America.
Breaking the vow was once punishable by death, but it is doubtful that this punishment is still carried out now. Many sworn virgins today still refuse to go back on their oath because their community would reject them for breaking the vows. However it is sometimes possible to take back the vows if the sworn virgin has finished her obligations to the family and the reasons/motivations (see below) which enabled her to take the vows are no longer current.
Read more about this topic: Albanian Sworn Virgins