Musine Kokalari

Musine Kokalari was born in 1917 in Adana, Turkey, to a patriotic and well-educated Albanian family from Gjirokastra. She studied Albanian language and literature at the University of Tirana, where she graduated in 1937. She published some articles on social issues under the pseudonym Muza (the Muse). In 1938, she moved to Rome to study literature at La Sapienza University. There, she wrote her first professional work, As my old mother tells me, a collection of ten prose tales inspired by the popular culture and folklore of Gjirokastra. The book was published in 1941 in Tirana and is considered the first literary work by a female writer in Albanian history. She also published an Italian-Albanian dictionary, which has not been found. [1](^1^) [2](^2^) In 1942, she returned to Albania and joined the anti-fascist and anti-communist movements. She contributed to the magazine The Albanian Woman under the pseudonym Tacitta. In 1943, she co-founded the Social Democratic Party of Albania, a moderate and pro-European political force. She also edited the party newspaper The Alliance and the cultural magazine Axis. She was a vocal advocate for democracy, human rights, and European integration. She also wrote two more books of prose, Around the Hearth and How life swayed, which were published in 1944. [3](^3^) [4](^4^) In 1945, she was arrested by the communist regime and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. She was accused of being an enemy of the people and a traitor. She was tortured and isolated in various prisons and labor camps. She was not allowed to write or read anything. She was released in 1964, but she was not allowed to return to Tirana or to her family. She was forced to live in Rrëshen, a small town in northern Albania, under constant surveillance and harassment. She worked as a manual laborer and lived in poverty and complete isolation. She died in 1983, at the age of 66. She was buried in an unknown grave. [5](^5^) [6] Musine Kokalari was a brilliant writer, a courageous journalist, and a visionary politician. She dedicated her life to the cause of freedom, democracy, and European integration. She was persecuted and silenced by the communist dictatorship, but her legacy and spirit survived. She was recognized as a national hero and a martyr of democracy in 2007, and her works were republished and translated. She is an inspiration for many Albanians and Europeans who value human dignity and liberty. [6] [7]