The 'Virtuous Woman': Images of Gender in Modern Coptic Society

Abstract

In a recent article, Coptic Patriarch Shenouda III (known by Copts as 'Pope Shenouda') outlined the merits of a virtuous (fadila) Coptic woman. 'Many speak about a woman's rights', the article begins, 'but the more pertinent issue is that a woman is virtuous'.' The article proceeds to summarize how a modem Coptic woman (in fact wife) can achieve this quality. First, the Pope suggests that a wife must allow her husband to feel a greater sense of freedom. She should not behave like a nag who 'forces' her husband to come home from work quickly; this kind of annoyance to her spouse will only push him to 'search for his freedom outside [the home]' 2 Secondly, the Coptic wife must closely scrutinize her husband's personality in order to learn how to 'win him over' with her gentle words and kindnesses. Third, a woman should show greater concern for her physical appearance inside the domain of the home, lest her looks be only for 'foreign export and not for local consumption'.' Pope Shenouda ends by noting that the highest (and all but impossible) example of the most virtuous woman is the Virgin Mary, and it is only the lucky husband who can attain this sort of woman she who does only good and no evil. This article, while not representative of the attitude of all Coptic clergy, is illustrative of a prevailing viewpoint on gender roles and on the expected place of the modem Coptic woman within family and society. It is a perspective which is not solely maintained by clergymen who hold a strong influence over the lives of at least six million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt but reverberates throughout the heart of Coptic society. One is hardpressed to find many works, especially in the English language, which focus on gender in contemporary Coptic culture. This is noteworthy considering the wealth of literature about the topic in broader Egyptian society (a literature which is often less sensitive to nuances within the Coptic community4) and seeing that the Copts constitute the largest Christian minority in the Middle East. Although one can find similarities in prescripts