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Race, women and health · Claim record

The Watchtower of 15 May 2011 described 'a wife who is foolish' as one who speaks unfavourably of her husband, and a wise wife as one 'careful not to undermine her husband's headship by nagging him or arguing with him', is economical and 'does not pressure her husband to work overtime'.

Claim ID claim-attitudes-2011-wise-and-foolish-wifeConcerns 15 May 2011Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 15 May 2011 Verified

The Watchtower of 15 May 2011 described 'a wife who is foolish' as one who speaks unfavourably of her husband, and a wise wife as one 'careful not to undermine her husband's headship by nagging him or arguing with him', is economical and 'does not pressure her husband to work overtime'. The Watchtower, 15 May 2011

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The matching section of the same article tells husbands not to dominate their wives harshly and says a wife 'is worthy of honor'. The article opens the section on wives by saying that subjection 'in no way suggests an undignified position'.

Show the evidence (1 source)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Christian Families—"Stay Awake"”

15 May 2011 · pp.7-11 · par. 11 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“A wife who is foolish does not hesitate to speak unfavorably of her husband, whereas a wise woman works to increase the respect that her children and others have for him. Such a wife is careful not to undermine her husband's headship by nagging him or arguing with him.”

A study article addressed in successive sections to husbands and to wives. The section on wives opens by saying that subjection 'in no way suggests an undignified position', then describes the wise wife as supportive, economical and careful not to pressure her husband to work overtime.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The full article was fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read; the quoted paragraph 11 falls after the library's page marker for page 9. The citation line inside the document reads 'w11 5/15 pp. 7-11'.

Notes. The matching section addressed to husbands tells them not to dominate their wives harshly and that a wife 'is worthy of honor'.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wom-w-2011-0515-stay-awake

Claim page Correct or update

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-attitudes-2011-wise-and-foolish-wife/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.