Male guardianship in the family (qiwama)

Al-Sha'rawi reads "men are in charge of women" as a duty of standing for the family's affairs and bearing its burden, not as domination, and he grounds the preference in men's labour and maintenance. ¹²

He says the word refers to one who stands for affairs with great effort, and that the man is charged with earning a living and with what serves those in his care: wife, daughters, sisters and mother. ¹²⁶

He sets out the order in the verse: admonition at a moment of harmony, then separation in bed within the home without public exposure, then light striking that leaves no mark. He reports that some scholars said the striking should be with a tooth-stick, presenting it without adopting it. He holds that obedience is judged by outward conduct. ³⁷⁴⁸

If discord is feared, an arbiter from each family is sent, with the aim of reconciliation, and he holds that success is God's alone. ⁵⁹

This is a sensitive entry. No academic reading and no contrary contemporary reading is set out in these pages (needs_source). It needs Tier A review before publication.

The Sheikh explains guardianship (qiwama) by spending, and says that men are favoured over women in some matters and women over men in others ¹⁰. He holds, as his own opinion, that guardianship must be exercised with ethics and faith and not for display, and that bearing the burdens of the household is a mark of true manliness ¹¹.

He says that guardianship is a respect for a woman's humanity, and that misunderstanding it and putting it in the wrong place is injustice ¹³; he holds that a husband who understands guardianship in a balanced way does not belittle his wife's humanity ¹⁴. He notes that a husband may err when he assumes his wife is like himself ¹⁵.

He says, as his own view, that a woman bears pregnancy and nursing and stays at home, and he cites what the Qur'an says about the male not being like the female (needs_source) ¹².