Mahr meanings - dower dealings: reflections from Palestine

This paper focuses on the question 'what happens' when people register a mahr in a marriage contract, and compares this with non-discursive social practices.
It first addresses the issue of the relevance of marriage contracts and changes in marriage contracts in the Middle East, compared to reforms of Muslim family law at the level of the state. Then it zones in on the case of Jabal Nablus, Palestine, to discuss how registration practices have changed in the course of the 20th century, and how such textual shifts relate to what actually happens in practice. By doing so also the relevance of the mahr for women will become evident.