Islamic law entitles women to inherit property and to manage their own income. This book examines under what circumstances they claim property rights and when they are prevented from doing so.

According to Islamic law, women are entitled to inherit property, to receive a dower at marriage, and are in full control of their income. Through an anthropological study of Palestinian women on the West Bank, Annelies Moors demonstrates that this is not always the case in practice. In fact, their options vary greatly depending on whether they gain access to property through inheritance, through the dower or through paid labour. The narratives of women from different stratas of society indicate under what circumstances they claim property rights, and when they are prevented from doing so in order to gain other advantages. While essentially an ethnographic study, the author's use of court records demonstrates how historical changes have affected women's claims to property, focusing on the relation between local traditions, international politics and transnational labour migration.

1. Introduction: women and property
Part I. Politics, Economy and Kinship: 2. The lives of four women: introducing property and politics
3. Women and inheritance
Part II. The Power: 4. The dower: marriage, gender and social stratification
5. Marriage: the prompt dower
6. Repudiation and widowhood: the deferred dower
Part III. Paid Labour and Property: 7. Poverty, wage labour and property
8. Gender and garment production
9. Education, professional work and property
10. Women and property revisited.