bā ěr gàn巴尔干lì shǐ历史hé和mín jiān gù shì民间故事lǐ里de的xìng bié性别biàn huà变化：xuān shì宣誓zhēn nǚ贞女、tè bié特别jué sè角色hé和nǚ zhàn shì女战士
Some people now often say that Balkan traditions have always been fixed, and that society has always been dominated by men.
But history, folklore, and people’s memories tell us that things were not that simple.
In the past in the Balkans, some women openly lived as men, such as the “sworn virgins.”
They usually came from families without sons. They wore men’s clothes and acted as the head of the household, but they had to promise never to marry.
There were also some men who did not quite fit the traditional image of masculinity; they helped in important community rituals and were respected by everyone.
Folktales also often feature women warriors: when a family had no sons, a daughter would dress as a man and go to war to protect her family and homeland.
After the war, they often returned to their original female identity.
There were also real historical figures like this, such as Milunka Savić, who once wore men’s clothes to join the army and later became a famous female soldier.
These stories do not mean that the past was equal, but they show that traditional Balkan society was actually more complex than many people think.