In general terms, the works of Nuruddin Farah have received insufficient attention in literary circles. This is in spite of the profound insights his novels provide on the Somali society, especially in relation to the struggles of women for emancipation in its patriarchal Islamic context. This research evaluates selected novels of Farah as illustrations of the predicament of women in a patriarchal society in which religion and tradition have been manipulated to subject women to various forms of hardships. The study further focuses on the aspirations and struggles of women in the patriarchal clan structure of Somali society which the previous studies have not adequately explored especially in relation to the efforts of women at self-realisation. Feminist literary criticism is used to show that Farah‟s novels are circumscribed by reformism, recognising that women can wrest away the historic privilege of males as the sole interpreters of women‟s lives. The study argues that Farah‟s novels provide a realistic representation of the position of women in Somalia and submits that religion is not the sole embodiment and conveyor of patriarchal ideology. The study examines Nuruddin Farah‟s From a Crooked Rib (1970), and his trilogy titled: „Variations on the theme of African Dictatorship comprising of the novels: Sweet and Sour Milk (1992), Sardines (1981) and Close Sesame (1992).