Gamophobia, Waithood, and the Childfree Movement: A Maqasid-Based Legal System Analysis of Contemporary Family Autonomy

, , , ,
Published: 2026-04-30 Pages: 39–58 DOI: 10.66277/cfs.v1i1.275
Abstract How to Cite Copyright References

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of marriage avoidance among younger generations has profoundly transformed contemporary conceptions of family, autonomy, and legal identity. This article examines the interconnections among gamophobia (the fear of marriage), waithood, and the childfree movement within the framework of current legal systems and the maqasid sharia (objectives of Islamic law). Utilizing a normative socio-legal approach based on interdisciplinary literature, the study investigates how economic uncertainty, psychological anxiety, shifting gender dynamics, and legal inequalities influence contemporary attitudes toward marriage and family formation. The findings reveal that existing legal frameworks frequently fail to accommodate evolving social realities, thereby perpetuating perceptions of marriage as restrictive, burdensome, and incompatible with personal autonomy. From the perspective of maqasid sharia, these phenomena are intricately connected to the challenges of safeguarding faith, psychological well-being, intellect, progeny, and economic stability within the context of contemporary family life. This study argues for adaptive and inclusive legal reforms that reconcile individual autonomy, social justice, and the dynamic objectives of Islamic family law in contemporary society.

Keywords

Gamophobia Waithood Childfree Legal System Maqasid Sharia

Copyright

Copyright Holder: Ahmad Rezy Meidina, Syufa’at, Achmad Siddiq, Hariyanto, M. Fuad Zain

Copyright Year: 2026

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References

Agrillo, Christian, and Cristian Nelini. “Childfree by Choice: A Review.” Journal of Cultural Geography 25, no. 3 (2008): 347–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/08873630802476292.
Ajra, Nabila Atika, Mela Desina, and Yuliana Intan Lestari. “Shifts in Modern Commitment: The Phenomenon of Fear of Marriage and Childfree from an Evolutionary Psychology Perspective.” Socius: Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial 3, no. 5 (2025): 521–29. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18052938.
Alifa Izzatun Nisa, and Mirna Nur Alia Abdullah. “Fenomena Gamophobia Pada Gen Z Dampak dari Kasus Perceraian Orang Tua.” Sabana: Jurnal Sosiologi, Antropologi, Dan Budaya Nusantara 3, no. 3 (2024): 243–48. https://doi.org/10.55123/sabana.v3i3.3361.
Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development from the Late Teens through the Twenties.” American Psychologist 55, no. 5 (2000): 469–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469.
Arthur-Holmes, Francis, and Thomas Yeboah. “Reconceptualizing the Youth and Waithood Notions: African Youth Agency and Rural Livelihoods in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining.” Journal of Rural Studies 113 (2025): 103513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103513.
Al-Shāṭibī, Abū Isḥāq. Al-Muwāfaqāt fī Uṣūl al-Sharī'ah. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah, n.d.
Backhouse, Roger. “The Debate over Milton Friedman’s Theoretical Framework: An Economist’s View.” In Economics and Language. New York: Routledge, 2020.
Balya, Humam. “Childfree by Choice: A Systematic Literature Review on Islamic Perspectives and Socio-Cultural Dynamics in Indonesia.” Jurnal Ilmiah Ahwal Syakhshiyyah 7, no. 2 (2025): 398–416.
Bermúdez Figueroa, Eva, Valerija Dabetić, Raquel Pastor Yuste, and Zara Saeidzadeh. “Gender and Structural Inequalities from a Socio-Legal Perspective.” (2023): 95–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14360-1_4.
Blackstone, Amy, and Mahala Dyer Stewart. “Choosing to Be Childfree: Research on the Decision Not to Parent.” Sociology Compass 6, no. 9 (2012): 718–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2012.00496.x.
Cai, Manlin. “For the Sake of Parents? Marriages of Convenience between Lesbians and Gay Men in China.” LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal 19, no. 3 (2023): 211–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/27703371.2023.2172509.
Chang, Joanna Nian. “Why Do Chinese Women Experience Gamophobia? Psychoanalytic Theory Assisted Discourses Analysis.” Frontiers in Psychology 15: 1357795 (2024): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1357795.
Creutzfeldt, Naomi, Marc Mason, and Kirsten McConnachie. Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods. New York: Routledge, 2020.
Cuzzocrea, Valentina. “Moratorium or Waithood? Forms of Time-Taking and the Changing Shape of Youth.” Time & Society 28, no. 2 (2019): 567–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X18763680.
Hussain, Dr Syed Maisoor. “The Intersection of Islamic Law and Modern Human Rights.” Journal of Religion and Society 3, no. 1 (2025): 382–94. https://islamicreligious.com/index.php/Journal/article/view/83.
Duasa, Jarita, Izyani Zulkifli, and Zera Zuryana Idris. “Voluntary Childlessness and Islamic Perspectives: A Systematic Literature Review.” Malaysian Journal of Islamic Studies 9, no. 2 (2025): 108–27. https://doi.org/10.37231/mjis.2025.9.2.301.
Faris LC, Salman. “Revisiting the Legacy of Islamic Legal Scholarship: The Influence of Sharia on Contemporary Legal Systems.” Journal of Islamic Law and Legal Studies 2, no. 1 (2025): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.70063/-.v2i1.56.
Fatkhurrokhman, Ricy, Muhammad Royhan Assaiq, and Tri Wastuti. “Covering Shame, Sacrificing Rights: A Maqāṣid Al-Shari’ah Perspective on Child Protection in Incestuous Marriage Practices.” International Journal of Social Science and Religion, 6, no. 3 (2025): 347–448. https://doi.org/10.53639/ijssr.v6i3.380.
Filah, Nafilah, Aspandi, Iffan Ahmad Gufron, and Suadi Sa’ad. “Systematic Literature Review: Pengaruh Spiritualitas Islam dalam Mengatasi Gejala Gamophobia pada Generasi Muda Muslim Indonesia.” Arus Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora 5, no. 1 (2025): 428–35. https://doi.org/10.57250/ajsh.v5i1.1052.
Finn, Brandon, and Sophie Oldfield. “Straining: Young Men Working through Waithood in Freetown, Sierra Leone.” Africa Spectrum 50, no. 3 (2015): 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971505000302.
Friedman, Lawrence M. The Legal System: A Social Science Perspective. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1987.
Gillespie, Rosemary. “Childfree and Feminine.” Gender & Society 17, no. 1 (2003): 122–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202238982.
Hadiati, Eti, Diah Ayu Setianingrum, and Agus Dwiyanto. “Understanding Childlessness: Islamic Law Perspective Involving a Social Media Influencer and Their Impacts.” KnE Social Sciences 10, no. 14 (2025): 786–95. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v10i14.19139.
Hariyanto, Hariyanto, Ahmad Rezy Meidina, and Mabarroh Azizah. “Decentralization and the Fulfilments of Children’s Rights: Challenges and Opportunities for Local Government in Indonesia.” Lex Scientia Law Review 8, no. 2 (2024): 677–706. https://doi.org/10.15294/lslr.v8i2.14373.
Harrington, Rebecca. “Childfree by Choice.” Studies in Gender and Sexuality 20, no. 1 (2019): 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15240657.2019.1559515.
Hennink, Monique, Inge Hutter, and Ajay Bailey. Qualitative Research Methods. Sage, 2020.
Husain, Sahin, Nasir Purkon Ayoub, and Mukhammadolim Hassmann. “Legal Pluralism in Contemporary Societies: Dynamics of Interaction between Islamic Law and Secular Civil Law.” Syariat: Akhwal Syaksiyah, Jinayah, Siyasah and Muamalah 1, no. 1 (2024): 1–17.
Inhorn, Marcia C, and Nancy J Smith-Hefner. Waithood: Gender, Education, and Global Delays in Marriage and Childbearing. Vol. 47. New York: Berghahn Books, 2020.
Keldal, Gökay, and Gürcan Şeker. “Marriage or Career? Young Adults’ Priorities in Their Life Plans.” The American Journal of Family Therapy 50, no. 5 (2022): 459–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2021.1915213.
Khoiruddin Nasution, Zezen Zainul Ali, Mufrod Teguh Mulyo, Syamruddin Nasution, and Syaefullah. “The Childfree Discourse in Contemporary Islamic Family Law and Human Rights: Insights from Young Muslim Academics in Indonesia.” MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review 5, no. 1 (2026): 1–32. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v5i1.11080.
Levy, Noa, and Itamar Dubinsky. “Forever Young: Institution-Based Waithood among Youth in Ghana and South Africa.” Time & Society 33, no. 2 (2024): 125–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X231193143.
Maftukhah, Nuriatul, Mustafiqul Hilmi, and Nur Hasaniyah. “Childfree Trend on Social Media (Critical Analyses Studies in Islamic Perspective).” Hakam: Jurnal Kajian Hukum Islam dan Hukum Ekonomi Islam 7, no. 2 (2023): 201–213. https://doi.org/10.33650/jhi.v7i2.6854.
Meidina, Ahmad Rezy, Zezen Zainul Ali, Mega Puspita, Hilma Nur Ashlakha, and Anisatuz Zahro. “What an Important Implementation of the Educational Rights of Adopted Children in Indonesia from an Islamic Jurisprudence Perspective?” El-Aqwal: Journal of Sharia and Comparative Law 3, no. 1 (2024): 85–96. https://doi.org/10.24090/el-aqwal.v3i1.11125.
Meidina, Ahmadrezy, and Mega Puspita. “Childfree Practices in Indonesia.” Hayula: Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Islamic Studies 7, no. 1 (2023): 17–32. https://doi.org/10.21009/hayula.007.01.02.
Mollen, Debra. “Voluntarily Childfree Women: Experiences and Counseling Considerations.” Journal of Mental Health Counseling 28, no. 3 (2006): 269–82. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.28.3.39w5h93mreb0mk4f.
Muhammad, Syafik, Fi’liatul Laili, Hilma Nur Ashlakha, and Ahmad Rezy Meidina. “The Impact of the Family Values Crisis on Children’s Right to Education: An Islamic Legal Principles Perspective in Addressing the Challenges of the Modern Era.” El-Aqwal: Journal of Sharia and Comparative Law 4, no. 1 (2025): 17–34. https://doi.org/10.24090/el-aqwal.v4i1.13600.
Musrifah, Musrifah, and Achmad Yusuf Amin. “The Concept of Mental Health and Mental Care: A Study of Zakiah Daradjat’s Thoughts.” International Journal of Social Science and Religion, 3, no. 2 (2022): 171–84. https://doi.org/10.53639/ijssr.v3i3.60.
Nizar, Muchamad Coirun, Feria Tamara, and M. Noviani Ardi. “Between Work and Family: Multiple Role Strategies of Career Women in Sultan Agung Islamic University.” Al-Hukama’ 13, no. 1 (2023): 115–39. https://doi.org/10.15642/alhukama.2023.13.1.115-139.
Rahardja, Satria Dwie, and Zainal Arifin Hoesein. “Comparison of Legal Systems in the Perspective of Contemporary Issues and Their Application In Indonesia.” International Journal of Social Service and Research 4, no. 12 (2024): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.46799/ijssr.v4i12.1149.
Rosen, Rachel. “From Waithood to Alternative Futures: Unaccompanied Children and Young People’s Temporalities of Care in the UK’s Migration Regime.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 51, no. 6 (2025): 1543–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2024.2441586.
Rosenberg-Friedman, Lilach. “Nationalism, Gender and Feminine Identity: The Case of Post-World War II Zionist Female Emissaries.” European Journal of Jewish Studies 8, no. 2 (2014): 194–216.
Safiudin, Khamdan. “Gender Problems in Indonesia: The Phenomenon of Gamophobia in a Permissive Society.” An-Nisa Jurnal Kajian Perempuan dan Keislaman 17, no. 1 (2024): 67–82. https://doi.org/10.35719/annisa.v17i1.245.
Shah, Rahat, Imran Sabir, and Adeela Zaka. “Interdependence and Waithood: Exploration of Family Dynamics and Young Adults’ Life Course Trajectories in Pakistan.” Advances in Life Course Research 63 (2025): 100660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2025.100660.
Somers, Marsha D. “A Comparison of Voluntarily Childfree Adults and Parents.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 55, no. 3 (1993): 643–650. https://doi.org/10.2307/353345.
Stahnke, Brittany, Morgan E. Cooley, and Amy Blackstone. “A Systematic Review of Life Satisfaction Experiences Among Childfree Adults.” The Family Journal 31, no. 1 (2023): 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807221104795.
Subhan, Moh, and Moh. Mahbub Jamalul Lail. “The Dialectics of Childfree: Integrating Islamic Law, Individual Rights, and Social Transformation in the Modern Era.” Musabab 2, no. 1 (2026): 29–41. https://journal.shafiyyah.org/index.php/musabab/article/view/60.
Sulfinadia, Hamda, Jurna Petri Roszi, Mega Puspita, A’zizil Fadli, and A’inil Fadli. “The Phenomenon Marriage Is Scary: Causal Factors and Efforts Faced by Muslim Communities in Indonesia.” Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam 10, no. 1 (2025): 355–77. https://doi.org/10.29240/jhi.v10i1.12414.
Supriyani, Ani, and Nina Fitriana. “Culture Shock Childfree Phenomenon in Indonesia from A Biopsychological and Humanistic Perspective.” Enrichment: Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development 3, no. 7 (2025): 3165–71. https://doi.org/10.55324/enrichment.v3i7.521.
Syafi’i, Imam, Tutik Hamidah, Noer Yasin, and Umar Muhammad. “Childfree in Islamic Law Perspective of Nahdlatul Ulama.” Al-Ahkam 33, no. 1 (2023): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.21580/ahkam.2023.33.1.14576.
Umami, Nadia ilma, Machmudah Lailiyah, Asqina Haudlatul Ashfa, and Mohammad Hamsa Fauriz. “The Tradition of Walimah Al-‘Urs Across Time: A Study of the Prophet’s Hadith and Reflections on the ‘Marriage Is Scary’ Phenomenon.” Madinah: Jurnal Studi Islam 12, no. 2 (2025): 283–96. https://doi.org/10.58518/madinah.V12i2.3783.
Utamidewi, Wahyu, Wisnu Widjanarko, Zainal Abidin, and Luluatu Nayiroh. “When Spouse Decide to Be Childfree: Are They Happy Without Child?” Proceedings of International Conference on Communication Science 2, no. 1 (2022): 915–24. https://doi.org/10.29303/iccsproceeding.v2i1.118.
Vladimirovich Dmitry, Deulin, and Penkov Alexander Mikhailovich. “Psychological Phenomenon of Childfree as a Problem of Modern Youth.” Anatolian Journal of Mental Health 2, no. 2 (2025): 57–72. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17097887.
Wulandari, Rani. “Waithood: Tren Penundaan Pernikahan pada Perempuan di Sulawesi Selatan.” Emik 6, no. 1 (2023): 52–67. https://doi.org/10.46918/emik.v6i1.1712.
Yuli, Yuliatin, Ardian Kurniawan Ardian, and M. Kamal Fathoni Kamal. “The Childfree Phenomenon: An Examination of the Interplay Between Traditional and Religious Values in the Malay Community of Jambi.” ADHKI: Journal of Islamic Family Law 7, no. 1 (2025): 134. https://doi.org/10.37876/adhki.v7i1.134.
Zhang, Shunxiang, Zichen Ma, Hanchen Li, Yunduo Liu, Lei Chen, and Kuan-Ching Li. “Gender Opposition Recognition Method Fusing Emojis and Multi-Features in Chinese Speech.” Soft Computing 29, no. 4 (2025): 2379–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-025-10492-4.
Zuhriah, Erfaniah, Erik Sabti Rahmawati, Melinda Aprilyanti, Umi Chaidaroh, and Mufidah Ch. “Childfree, the Digital Era, and Islamic Law: Views of Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and Gender Activists in Malang, Indonesia.” Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga dan Hukum Islam 7, no. 3 (2023): 1606–1626. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v7i3.17753.

How to Cite

Gamophobia, Waithood, and the Childfree Movement: A Maqasid-Based Legal System Analysis of Contemporary Family Autonomy. (2026). Contemporary Fiqh Studies, 1(1), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.66277/cfs.v1i1.275