Law. Human. Environment

Motherhood rights in international human rights instruments and Islam: A comparative analysis

Ansaf Hussein Abdulkhadi El-Mungi Leila, Musa Musa El-Said Dzhabara, Aizada Tashtanova, Abdelgawad Ahmed Abdelmawla Moussa
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Abstract

The study was aimed at identifying the conceptual foundations, implementation mechanisms and convergence potential between universal human rights norms and Islamic legal doctrine in the field of motherhood protection. The methodology was based on the application of comparative legal analysis of international conventions, Islamic primary sources and contemporary legal acts of Muslim states. The research identified differences in sources of law: international law was grounded in secular universalism and the concept of human dignity, whereas the Islamic tradition derived norms from their divine origin as established in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. It was found that international law offered an individualistic model of rights guaranteed by the state through social mechanisms, while Islamic jurisprudence proposed a complementary system of mutual family and community obligations. The analysis of the legal systems of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia demonstrated differences in the mechanisms of financial support for motherhood: state responsibility in international law versus the nafaka system in Islam, as well as differing approaches to child custody – the best interests of the child principle versus the hadana framework. The study of bioethical principles revealed the unanimous position of Islamic jurists against surrogacy, rooted in the protection of lineage. At the same time, points of convergence were identified in the recognition of the special status of motherhood and the need for its protection. The practical significance of the research lies in the potential use of the findings to develop hybrid regulatory models of motherhood rights in Muslim countries that integrate international standards with religious-legal traditions, which is particularly relevant in the context of the globalisation of legal space

Keywords

nafaka; hadana; fiqh; Maqasid al-Sharia; discrimination

Suggested citation
El-Mungi Leila, A.H.A., El-Said Dzhabara, M.М., Tashtanova, A., & Abdelmawla Moussa, A.A. (2026). Motherhood rights in international human rights instruments and Islam: A comparative analysis. Law. Human. Environment, 17(1), 214-233. https://doi.org/10.31548/law/1.2026.214
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