…says a 78-year old Albanian woman who made an oath of celibacy in return for the right to live and rule her family as a man.

“Back then, it was better to be a man because, before, a woman and an animal were considered the same thing,” says Keqi, who has a bellowing baritone voice, sits with her legs open wide like a man and relishes downing shots of Raki and smoking cigarettes. “Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men and are even more powerful, and I think today it would be fun to be a woman.”

She says:

“I was totally free as a man because no one knew I was a woman,” Keqi said. “I could go wherever I wanted to and no one would dare swear at me because I could beat them up. I was only with men. I don’t know how to do women’s talk. I am never scared.”

Well, I do think that it would serve women well to know how to defend ourselves. And, I’m not so sure about the ‘never scared’ part. But you know, she’s right. It