The Warrior Bride: Shote Galica (1895-1927)

Shote Galica serves as a prominent figure in both Albanian and feminist history. As a bride, she defied all traditional images of the “fragile bride”. Galica embodied the spirit of resistance and fought for the independence and unification of all Albanian territories. She lived in a time where gender roles were strictly enforced, but interestingly enough her family structure differed. Born as “Qerime Radisheva”, Shote (meaning wild duck) was raised by her father Halil amongst six brothers. Rather than limit his daughter to the traditional women's role at the time, he included her in men’s responsibilities. Specifically, she frequented the traditional Oda e Burrave which was the men’s chambers of authority. There she was witness to the story-telling, decision-making and singing that had been reserved to men. She was raised with blindness in regards to gender and dressed in men’s clothing, wore the traditional plis, she would accessorize in a necklace of bullets, and she played the qifteli and sang patriotic songs. Shote’s union to Azem Galica in 1915 solidified her title as the “warrior bride”, wherein she abandoned bridal attire and opted to wear men’s clothing. Instead of a dowry, she requested a gun. Shote Galica and her husband, Azem Galica were both leaders of the Kaçak fighters, the resistance against the Serbian army. In 1921, she entered Mitrovica without Azem and killed the head of the Serbian army (who led the order to kill both of their families). She is known to have shouted, “I killed him, Azem! I killed him in the name of mothers he left without sons, in the name of brides he left without husbands, in the name of sisters he left without brothers, in the name of the freedom of Kosove!” Shote Galica and other freedom fighters like her were symbols of defiance and bravery against oppression. Like many before and after her, she died never seeing her goal of independence and unification come to life. She is the personification of the abandonment of hegemonic gender roles and that women can be fighters and brides. The world has so much to learn from her resilience and dedication to the freedom of her people, which is why she is the highlight of our March FodaZine, dropping very soon.