COUNTERING THE CURRENT OF GENDER NEUTRALITY : (A Critical Quranic and Sunnah Review of Universal Human Rights Standards and the Deconstruction of Fitrah)

Wahyu Nur Cholis (UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari Ponorogo)

IJouGS: Indonesian Journal of Gender Studies
Vol. 7 No. 01 (2026)

This research examines the tension between the concept of gender neutrality in contemporary Human Rights (HR) discourse and the principle of fitrah (innate human nature) in Islam. Background: The emergence of gender neutrality aims to deconstruct biological and social identities, which potentially disrupts the Islamic theological values regarding the duality of human creation. Methods: This study is a normative legal research employing syar'i and conceptual approaches through critical content analysis of Islamic legal sources and international human rights instruments. Results: The study finds an epistemological conflict where universal human rights are rooted in relative secular humanism, while Islam is based on absolute revelation. Gender neutrality creates legal ambiguity within the Islamic inheritance system (faraid), marriage guardianship (wilayah), and the structure of the Islamic family. Conclusion: The rejection of the deconstruction of fitrah in Islam is an effort to uphold maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, particularly ḥifẓ al-nasl (preservation of progeny), because gender identity in Islam is immutable and biologically based, carrying clear legal consequences.