Revenge

There was a great article in yesterday's NYTimes about a custom that's dying out in rural Albania, where historically there was a shortage of men (wars, disease, fueds) and so sometimes women would take on male roles. Head of household, defender of the extended family's honor and so on. They were sworn to virginity, and by local custom were treated exactly like men. They had property rights and whatnot that women didn't normally have.

But there was one paragraph that caught my eye, part of an interview with one of these sworn virgins:

'Being the man of the house also made her responsible for avenging her father’s death, she said. When her father’s killer, by then 80, was released from prison five years ago, Ms. Keqi said, her 15-year-old nephew shot him dead. Then the man’s family took revenge and killed her nephew. “I always dreamed of avenging my father’s death,” she said. “Of course, I have regrets; my nephew was killed. But if you kill me, I have to kill you." '

Of course I have regrets; my nephew was killed.... This is exactly why I'm not in a hurry to go to rural Albania.