Under classical Islamic law, a husband is responsible for his wife’s basic needs such as feeding, clothing, and lodging on equitable terms or in accordance with their agreement at the time of the marriage contract.

In the internal organisation of the family, a man is in the position of the head and the over-all supervisor. In fact it is the eldest member of the extended family who occupies the position of the head. A man’s major responsibilities lie outside the family. He is to support the family economically and materially, he has to look after the relations of the family with the rest of the society, economy and policy and he has to take care of the demands of internal discipline within the family. A woman’s major responsibilities lie within the family. Here too, the eldest woman is regarded as the centre of the family organisation but within each circle and fold the relative central position is enjoyed by that woman who constitutes its core. A spectrum of mutual rights and responsibilities has been evolved in such a way that balanced relationships are developed between all. The Quran says.

“Men are in charge of woman, because Allah has made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their wealth (for supporting them and the family)”.59