Old Enough But Gold: 117year old Albanian Woman May Be the World’s Oldest Person Alive

At 117, Qamile Marra has lived through more than a century of history. Eventhough the Albanian great-grandmother could be the world’s oldest living woman, she seems to be more absorbed in enjoying the mundane than making it to the Guinness World Records. 

Marra, who reportedly celebrates her birthday on 19 August 1909, lives in the village of Ferras in Albania, where she has spent most of her life growing food, tending livestock and caring for her home.

More than a century old

For a woman born under Ottoman rule, who turned 36 a fortnight before the end of World War II and outlived Albania’s communist dictatorship, her focus remains firmly on enjoying life. Today, she connected to the familiar surroundings she has called home for decades.  

Her routine is refreshingly simple. “Life is beautiful, like Mount Tomorr in bloom,” she told AFP with a smile, referring to one of Albania’s highest mountaintops as she sat outside her home in Ferras, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital.

Marra’s Age

Surrounded by fruit trees, she has spent most of her life in the village, growing her own food and tending livestock. “You live as long as God has decreed,” she said, her time worn face framed by a traditional white headscarf. 

According to her birthdate as listed on multiple official documents, August 19, 1909, Marra should be two days older than Britain’s Ethel Caterham, recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living woman. 

Definitely validating the age of “supercentenarians” can be difficult. 

A lot of people known for living long are from places where shady recordkeeping and suspected pension fraud are a pandemic, according to a study that won the 2024 Ig Nobel prize, which awards offbeat scientific research. 

Her age even stunned local authorities, who ended her pension when she turned 100, according to her 80-year-old son Hysen.  “They didn’t believe my mother was still alive,” he said, recalling how he had to show proof, including witness statements, to resume the meagre payments.

Five generations

She also a story of family, her husband passed on 36 years ago, however she still blushes when talking about their decades together - an arranged marriage, but a loving one. 

“Otherwise, how could I have had seven children with him?” she adds.
She has now seen five generations of her family grow up around her. As she goes on to recall all the family and friends she has lost tears well up, however her face beams with joy when a niece called chat. “I’ve watched them get engaged, marry and build their own homes and lives,” she said. “When I see people coming and going in the house, I am so happy.”

More than a number

She has kept a single photograph from her own youth: a near-century-old picture of a young woman wearing a white scarf just like the one she had on. Looking at the picture, she remembers the age she was at the time. “I was 18!”, she said. 

Whether Marra eventually receives official recognition as the world’s oldest living woman remains to be seen. For now, her story offers a glimpse into a life shaped by historical change, family bonds and familiar daily rituals.