According to 4:34, men are in charge of women. Some of the rights of the husband are put together in the second graph of my answer here. Until recently I thought these falls under walayah (guardianship), however that doesn't seem to be quite the case. Instead, the correct phrasing seems to be that the husband is the qawwaam if his wife. This brings up some questions:
- Is qawwaam an expression exclusive to the husband? As far as I know, the guardian (usually the father) has the rights enumerated in my linked answer (apart from demanding sex).
- Does a divorced woman have a qawwaam, and if so, who? Perhaps she reverts to being under the guardianship of her previous qawwaam?