Sex a hassle, says 105-year-old virgin Clara Meadmore

Clara Meadmore, who marked her birthday with a drop of wine at the Perran Bay nursing home in Cornwall, south-west England, also received a card from Queen Elizabeth II.

Sworn to virginity and living as men in Albania

Qamile Stema, 88, a so-called sworn virgin, scolds relatives for not visiting her often enough. (Johan Spanner for The New York Times)

"Stripping off their sexuality by pledging to remain virgins was a way for these women in a male-dominated, segregated society to engage in public life," says Linda Gusia, a professor of gender studies at the University of Pristina in Kosovo. "It was about surviving in a world where men rule."