I wish I could find the reference, but I was reading a while back about a tradition somewhere in the Middle East (I think. Or it might be the Romanian tradition that Beth-chella mentioned) that allowed women to take on the role of a man, so long as she swore to remain a virgin for the rest of her life. In exchange she was granted all the rights of men, dressed as a man, was referred to as a man, etc. It was usually something that the eldest virgin daughter would do if her father died and there were no male relatives who could take over the family. Because women were not allowed to work the whole family would starve unless one of the daughters became a "perpetual virgin", got a job, and supported them.
As I say, I can't find it anymore, but there was an article about one of the last remaining "Virgins", who had sworn the oath in the '20s or 30's and had lived as a man ever since.
