In Terengganu, as in many other regions, women's awareness of their legal rights remains a significant challenge. Despite progress in legal reforms and increasing access to education, many women continue to lack knowledge about their rights under civil and syariah law, particularly in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. This lack of awareness is often compounded by cultural norms, limited media exposure, and inadequate access to legal resources. Realizing this issue, a literacy programme initiative has been conducted to examine the awareness of women on their rights. The study evaluated the impact of such legal literacy programme on women in Kuala Nerus district of Terengganu for the purpose to increase awareness and understanding of their rights in both civil and syariah law. By analyzing pre and post programme assessments, this study highlighted the success and challenges of such initiative in empowering women to seek legal protection and justice. The findings indicated a significant improvement in legal awareness among participants, as well as highlighted areas requiring further attention, particularly in the enforcement of legal rights and the accessibility of legal aid to women.
Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia. (2025). Federal Constitution (As at 15 October 2020). https://lom.agc.gov.my/federal-constitution.php
CommonLII. (n.d.). Domestic Violence Act 1994. https://www.commonlii.org/my/legis/consol_act/dva1994178/
Eqanun. (2025). Islamic Family Law Enactment (Terengganu) 2017. https://eqanun.terengganu.gov.my/files//1691020329.pdf
Farah. (2025, Februari 25). Tingkatkan kesedaran hak wanita. Urusetia Penerangan Darul Aman (UPDA). https://www.upda.my/2025/02/tingkatkan-kesedaran-hak-wanita.html
Harun, M. R., Salleh, H. M., & Mokhtar, A. E. (2024). Sorotan kajian terhadap kadar mas kahwin di negeri Pahang Darul Makmur (Highlights of the Study on Marriage Dowry Rates in Pahang Darul Makmur State). Ulum Islamiyyah, 36(2), 198-211.
Hazram, N. A. (2024). Analisis perkahwinan bawah umur di Malaysia dari perspektif Syariah: (An analysis of Child Marriage from Syariah Perspective). Ulum Islamiyyah, 36(2), 139-151.
Ipsos. (2025). Kaji selidik ipsos menunjukkan isu-isu utama yang dihadapi oleh wanita dan salah tanggapan terhadap pemerkasaan wanita di Malaysia. https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2018-04/empowering_women_pr_final_bm.pdf
Ismail, M.H. & Mahamad Isa, M.A.N. (2024). Item Nafkah selain Keperluan Asas dalam Perintah Nafkah. Jurnal Undang-undang dan Masyarakat, 34, 93-106. Doi:10.17576/juum-2024-3401-07.
Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. (2025). Lawyerment. https://www.lawyerment.com/library/legislation/cite/?act=164
Mustafa, R., & Nasohah, Z. (2022). Sorotan literatur kesedaran wanita bekerjaya tentang hak-hak selepas perceraian. Jurnal Islam dan Masyarakat Kontemporari, 23(2), 221-233. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375075944_Sorotan_Literatur_Kesedaran_Wanita_Bekerjaya_Tentang_Hak_Hak_Selepas_Perceraian_Literature_Review_of_Career_ Women's_Awareness_on_Post-Divorce_Rights
Nabilah, N.F., Haris, A. & Ab Latif, L. (2024). Faktor perceraian dalam kalangan pasangan belia di Seberang Perai Utara menurut undang-undang kekeluargaan Islam. ESTEEM Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 8(1) April. https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/99017/1/99017.pdf.
Paslan, N. A. (2024). Pemerkasaan hak wanita dalam perkahwinan di Malaysia: Perspektif peguam syarie & pengamal kaunseling keluarga. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 9(56), 403-428. https://gaexcellence.com/ijepc/article/view/4524/4148
Sinar Harian. (2021, Julai 1). Isteri tidak bekerja ada hak ke atas harta sepencarian. https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/147393/berita/nasional/isteri-tidak-bekerja-ada-hak-ke-atas-harta-sepencarian
Supaat, D.I., Abdul Ghafar, A. & Che Amani, N. (2024). Kerentanan dan perlindungan undang-undang: Meneroka undang-undang keluarga Islam di Malaysia. Kanun: Jurnal Undang-undang Malaysia, 36(2), 181–212. https://doi.org/10.37052/kanun.36(2)no2
Mohamad, S. N. A. B. S. N., Aziz, H. B. A., Hamid, N. A. B., Bidin, A. B., & Harun, N. B. (2025). Building Awareness, Empowering Women: The Legal Literacy Programme in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(4), 585–592.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
