Supreme Court has reasserted biological reality!

The UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling on “gender” has triggered applause, outrage, and confusion in equal measure. [1]

But behind the media noise lies a significant legal correction — one that reasserts biological reality in a time where feelings are increasingly seen to define truth.

BACKGROUND

On 16 April 2025, the UK Supreme Court made an important ruling in the case For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers
It confirmed that the word 'sex' in the Equality Act of 2010 means biological sex — the physical sex someone is born with — and not the ‘gender’ listed on a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)
This decision clears up years of confusion about whether someone who has legally changed their ‘gender’ with a GRC should be treated as having changed sex in the eyes of the law
The case was about who counts as a 'woman' when appointing members to Scottish public boards, but the outcome affects the whole of the UK, including schools

Just what is “gender recognition”?

In the UK, you must be 18 or over to apply for a gender recognition certificate (GRC); it is a document that affirms a person’s so-called “acquired gender”.

That means this recent ruling directly applies to nearly all pupils, because children cannot legally change their sex.

Therefore, in schools, a child’s sex under the law is always their biological sex at birth, no matter how they identify.

Even if a pupil socially transitions or plans to change their legal “gender” when they’re older, this does not change their legal sex in the meantime.

Who is legally considered a woman?

The Supreme Court confirmed that devolved parliaments — such as Holyrood — cannot redefine protected terms like “woman” in UK-wide legislation.

This has far-reaching consequences, including the following:

It preserves the biological definition of sex in legal settings.
It restricts devolved bodies from elevating “gender identity” over biological sex in law.
It reasserts protections for single-sex spaces like changing rooms, sports, and domestic violence shelters.

This isn’t just a technicality — it is a line in the sand. Reality matters. Biology matters. Truth matters.

What this says about the “liberal” order

With rights vs. rights, secular liberalism cannot sustain itself

Modern “liberal” democracies elevate individual rights as a moral ideal.

But when one group’s “rights” conflict with another’s — as in the case of biological women vs. “trans”-identifying men — the system begins to collapse.

And instead of principled clarity, we get political cowardice. Parliament failed to clarify these tensions. So the courts were forced to do what politics would not: arbitrate between irreconcilable visions of truth.

Even the Prime Minister is in the wrong

It’s worth remembering that Keir Starmer, now Prime Minister, refused to give a clear definition of “woman” while in opposition.

In September 2021, he publicly criticised Labour MP Rosie Duffield for stating that only women have a cervix, saying on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show,

That shouldn’t be said. It’s not right.” [2]

A few months later, when pressed on LBC, he avoided a clear answer on whether women can have a penis, saying only that the “vast majority” of women do not.

Even a year later, in The Sunday Times, he added,

For 99.9 per cent of women, it is completely biological,” [3]

— still stopping short of affirming a clear, science-based definition.

This hesitation to speak plainly about biological reality speaks volumes about how “gender” ideology has taken hold even at the highest levels of political leadership.

Elevation of ideology over reality

Biological sex is observable, universal, and grounded in reality.

Yet, for years, it was dismissed as outdated or irrelevant. In its place, “gender identity” — a fluid, self-declared feeling — was promoted as more real than reality.

This ruling reasserts that a society cannot function if it legislates based on internal feelings over objective facts.

Bullying of dissent, the “trans” lobby’s playbook

For years, the “LGBTQ” lobby has silenced opposition through labelling, cancellation, and institutional coercion.

Those who questioned “gender” ideology were branded “trans”-phobic, doxed, and in some cases even lost their jobs.

It mirrors the strategy used by the Zionist lobby — drown out dissent, weaponise guilt, and shut down public dialogue.

This judgment disrupts that dominance. It opens the door for legitimate criticism of “gender” ideology without fear of institutional retaliation.

What this really means for schools

The implications for schools are both profound and practical.

Safeguarding and privacy

Schools are now on much firmer legal ground to maintain sex-segregated facilities, like toilets and changing rooms, for biological boys and girls.

This is especially crucial during overnight trips, PE sessions, and in contexts where modesty and privacy matter — such as faith-based schools.

Clarity for RSE and PSHE

The ruling empowers teachers to distinguish between sex and “gender identity” in how they teach — helping restore balance and accuracy to lessons on identity and relationships.

It also challenges the use of resources that promote “gender identity” as settled science, when in fact, it is a contested belief system.

Parental rights

Parents — especially Muslim ones — have been raising the alarm about “gender” ideology for years.

This ruling validates our concerns and increases the demand for transparency, parental consultation, and opt-out rights.

Islam’s view on “gender”

Let us be clear: Islam does not have a view on “gender” ideology — because Islam does not legitimise made-up categories!

I received a message from a well-meaning Muslim the morning after the judgment.

It said,

Islam only recognises two genders.”

While sincere, that language plays into the very framework we must resist.

Islam recognises male and female. Full stop.

The term “gender” is a liberal fiction — a set of ideas that attempts to divorce biological sex from human identity.

It is an ideology that says a boy who feels like a girl is a girl, and that medical transition is not only acceptable, but necessary!

But in Islam, the body is a trust.

A person in distress should be supported, counselled, and re-centred — not surgically mutilated or socially enabled in a false identity.

What’s happening in schools right now?

Despite the ruling, many schools continue to act as informal partners of the “trans” lobby.

They:

promote “gender” ideology in RSE;
train staff in activist language and uncritical inclusion;
and affirm “self-declared genders” without parental knowledge.

When children are told their passing feelings define reality, we are not safeguarding — we are endangering them.

The Department for Education (DfE) has so far refused to provide updated guidance. Two major consultations — on “gender-questioning” children and the revised RSE guidance — closed over a year ago. Still, no official response.

That’s why Muslim Family Initiative has written urgently to the DfE, calling for immediate clarification.

In light of this Supreme Court ruling, the silence must end. We will pursue this response on behalf of our community — and for all children.

And what should schools actually be doing?

Rebalancing of inclusion

Schools no longer need to stretch the legal meaning of “sex” to accommodate ideology.

Now, schools can make lawful, proportionate decisions based on their facilities, community needs, and safeguarding requirements.

They may exclude “trans”-identifying children from single-sex facilities.

Key actions to implement

They should now immediately engage in the following:

Train staff on legal definitions of “sex” and “gender reassignment”.
Engage parents and governors, especially where values are at stake.
Review policies on toilets, changing rooms, sports, and safeguarding.
Handle decisions case by case, with clear rationale and record-keeping.

My final thoughts

This ruling is a moment of clarity — but it’s only a beginning.

Schools, parents, and communities must now:

Push for updated national guidance.
Empower children with the truth and not “gender” ideology.
Hold schools accountable where they champion “gender” ideology and promote social transition.

Muslims must not concede ground to frameworks that deny reality. We don’t need to make Islam compatible with “gender” ideology.

We need to stand with what Islam has always affirmed: truth, balance, protection — and honouring the fitrah of every child.

Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,