Message from the Black Woman: Gendered Roles of Women in the Nation of Islam from 1995 to 2005

In this thesis I argue that despite the traditional gender roles assigned to women members of the Nation of Islam, these women are able to assert and employ their power both within and outside of the domestic sphere. Essential to understanding their roles is to identify these women and their narratives as told by them. Who are the women of the Nation of Islam? What do these women do? How are women members viewed by men in leadership roles? How are these women viewed by women who are not members of the Nation of Islam? How do these women view themselves?More specifically, what do these women see as their contribution to Nation-building historically and in the present? In closing, I attempt to examine and imagine the ways in which traditional notions of womanhood as outlined by the Nation of Islam can survive in the twenty-first century.