--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's really no such thing as the…" description: "\"There's really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.\" — Arundhati Roy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/arundhati-roy-346_feminist_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_1671855.png" --- # There's really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are… ![“There's really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/arundhati-roy-346_feminist_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_1671855.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/arundhati-roy-346_feminist_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_1671855.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/arundhati-roy-346_feminist_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_1671855.png) > “There's really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful voices are suppressed deliberately; silence is often imposed, not natural. **In simple terms:** Silence is imposed, not inherent. Key Takeaway Identify and challenge forced silence. Themes justice silence power voice Mood defiant urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - activism - legal advocacy - media reporting - education - community organizing Key Concepts social control human rights oppression Questions to Reflect On - Who is being silenced and why? - How can we amplify marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Not all silence is voluntary; some choose quietude. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’” Arundhati Roy has said. “There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voiceless-arundhati-roy-has-said/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [I'm grateful that, after an early life of being silenced, sometimes violently, I grew up to have a voice, circumstances that will always bind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-m-grateful-that-after-an-early-life-of-being-silenced-sometimes/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [It's very easy for me to begin to believe the publicity about myself, whether for or against. It can give you an absurd idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-s-very-easy-for-me-to-begin-to-believe-the-publicity-about-myself/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“She was lost now, she'd been silenced- another dead branch on Cordova's warped tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/she-was-lost-now-she-d-been-silenced-another-dead-branch-on-cordova-s/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/anyone-who-challenges-the-prevailing-orthodoxy-finds-himself-silenced/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [If you are corrupt and you have extra cash you are able to shut the mouth of your accuser and they will be silenced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/if-you-are-corrupt-and-you-have-extra-cash-you-are-able-to-shut-the/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The voice of universe can be silenced but the voice of writers cannot be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gulzar/the-voice-of-universe-can-be-silenced-but-the-voice-of-writers-cannot/) [Gulzar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gulzar/) > [In our times, significantly, the three outstanding voices against violence have been silenced by murder - Mahatma Gandhi in India, Archbishop Romero in El…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-fenwick/in-our-times-significantly-the-three-outstanding-voices-against/) [Millicent Fenwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-fenwick/) > [“Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-bernock/trauma-is-personal-it-does-not-disappear-if-it-is-not-validated-when/) [Danielle Bernock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-bernock/) > [Thought that is silenced is always rebellious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-barth/thought-that-is-silenced-is-always-rebellious/) [Alan Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-barth/) > [“I lived through this horror, and no one can tell me I have to stay quiet. 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There's a wealth of wisdom and real resilience there, but they're silenced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-gadsby/we-need-to-hear-stories-from-older-women-there-s-a-wealth-of-wisdom/) [Hannah Gadsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-gadsby/) > [“A silenced leader's gaze stifles the oppressor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-i-svikiro/a-silenced-leader-s-gaze-stifles-the-oppressor/) Andy I. Svikiro ## More by Arundhati Roy > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Poverty is a crime and the poor are terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/poverty-is-a-crime-and-the-poor-are-terrorists/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [NGOs have a complicated space in neoliberal politics. They are supposed to mop up the anger. Even when they are doing good work, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/ngos-have-a-complicated-space-in-neoliberal-politics-they-are/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Truly, there's no alternative to stupidity. Cretinism is the mother of fascism. I have no defence against it, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/truly-there-s-no-alternative-to-stupidity-cretinism-is-the-mother-of/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-secret-of-the-great-stories-is-that-they-have-no-secrets-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“stilts, the ground floors given over to parking. It’s a good idea in this car-maddened city,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/stilts-the-ground-floors-given-over-to-parking-it-s-a-good-idea-in/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. 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