---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The vote means nothing to women. We…"
description: "\"The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.\" — Edna O'Brien"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png"
---

#  The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.

![“The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png)

> “The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.”

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The statement argues that women's votes are ineffective without self‑defense, suggesting empowerment through arms.

**In simple terms:** Women need power to make votes count.

Key Takeaway

Consider self‑defense for influence.

Themes

politics gender empowerment

Mood

defiant urgent

Type

political activist

When to use this quote

- elections
- civil rights activism
- personal safety training

Key Concepts

feminism self‑defense

Questions to Reflect On

- Is voting power truly limited without weapons?
- What non‑violent ways empower women voters?

A Different Perspective

Arming may not address systemic inequality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Insirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insirational/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/)

## Related quotes

> [ I think \[women\] should be armed but should not vote ... women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/i-think-women-should-be-armed-but-should-not-vote-women-have-no/)

[Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/)

> [The men and women of our armed forces played an instrumental role in the election process - securing polling sites and providing security -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-mchugh/the-men-and-women-of-our-armed-forces-played-an-instrumental-role-in/)

[John M. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-mchugh/)

> [That we have the vote means nothing. That we use it in the right way means everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-henry-hoover/that-we-have-the-vote-means-nothing-that-we-use-it-in-the-right-way/)

[Lou Henry Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-henry-hoover/)

> [“I like to vote, but not be voted on. I don’t mind losing one on one, but to lose through a vote means the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-like-to-vote-but-not-be-voted-on-i-don-t-mind-losing-one-on-one-but/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [I think if people value democracy, they had damn well better get out and exercise their right to vote while their vote still means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-weir/i-think-if-people-value-democracy-they-had-damn-well-better-get-out/)

[Bob Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-weir/)

> [The men of Texas deserved much credit, but more was due the women. Armed men facing a foe could not but be brave; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson-rusk/the-men-of-texas-deserved-much-credit-but-more-was-due-the-women/)

Thomas Jefferson Rusk

> [“It was drizzling. As people rushed along, they began opening umbrellas over their heads, and all at once the streets were crowded, too. Arched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/it-was-drizzling-as-people-rushed-along-they-began-opening-umbrellas-2/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Nu shu means women's writing. And it was a secret writing system that was invented by women, used by women and kept a secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was-a-secret-writing-system-that/)

[Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/)

> [Hillary Clinton knows, as I did know, as my women members know - that a woman being elected to a position, it's not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/hillary-clinton-knows-as-i-did-know-as-my-women-members-know-that-a/)

[Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/)

> [Whenever I was with a woman, I always sort of want another one. So there was always another one. I can't explain this, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-kinski/whenever-i-was-with-a-woman-i-always-sort-of-want-another-one-so-2/)

[Klaus Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-kinski/)

> [“To a woman, being married means you do not under any circumstances put your penis in another woman’s vagina. It also means no blowjobs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-argiro/to-a-woman-being-married-means-you-do-not-under-any-circumstances-put/)

[Helen Argiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-argiro/)

> [I am absolutely not a feminist, I am against stupidity, and if it comes from males or females, it doesn't change anything. If it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-am-absolutely-not-a-feminist-i-am-against-stupidity-and-if-it-comes/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [But by no manner of means are women to be allotted to uncover and exhibit any part of their person, lest both fall,-the men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/but-by-no-manner-of-means-are-women-to-be-allotted-to-uncover-and/)

[Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/)

> [You can't really divorce women's struggles in the world from women's in the cinema. As long as there's hierarchy it means that women are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-potter/you-can-t-really-divorce-women-s-struggles-in-the-world-from-women-s/)

[Sally Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-potter/)

> [It's not the vote women need, we should be armed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/it-s-not-the-vote-women-need-we-should-be-armed/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

## More by Edna O'Brien

> [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [You have to be lonely to be a writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/you-have-to-be-lonely-to-be-a-writer/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [I crossed the room, and what you did was to feel my hair over and over again and in different ways, touch it, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/i-crossed-the-room-and-what-you-did-was-to-feel-my-hair-over-and-over/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [We hide the truer part of ourselves when we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/we-hide-the-truer-part-of-ourselves-when-we-love/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [Movie people are possessed by demons, but a very low form of demons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/movie-people-are-possessed-by-demons-but-a-very-low-form-of-demons/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [Ordinary life bypassed me, but I also bypassed it. It couldn't have been any other way.Conventional life and conventional people are not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ordinary-life-bypassed-me-but-i-also-bypassed-it-it-couldn-t-have/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [“A healer! The beauty of the word a balm. In a mounting astonishment she hears how this man heals with his own blood, pricks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-healer-the-beauty-of-the-word-a-balm-in-a-mounting-astonishment-she/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [“If I could feel like myself I’d thank God but I don’t feel and never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/if-i-could-feel-like-myself-i-d-thank-god-but-i-don-t-feel-and-never/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [...people liking you or not liking you is an accident and is to do with them and not you. That goes for love too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/people-liking-you-or-not-liking-you-is-an-accident-and-is-to-do-with/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [“tears running down her cheeks and her nose, tears from the cold and the prospect of being absent for weeks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/tears-running-down-her-cheeks-and-her-nose-tears-from-the-cold-and/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [“laughter filling that end of the ward, overflowing, one bringing a chair for Eleanora, another a cup of coffee, marveling that at long last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/laughter-filling-that-end-of-the-ward-overflowing-one-bringing-a/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [“Dilly reckons it would be difficult to thread those needles, the eyes so small, especially with her cataracts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/dilly-reckons-it-would-be-difficult-to-thread-those-needles-the-eyes/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

> [When something has been perfect, there is a tendency to try hard to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/when-something-has-been-perfect-there-is-a-tendency-to-try-hard-to/)

[Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

[Explore all 182 Edna O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/)

## More Armed quotes

> [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/)

[Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/)

> [“Have you ever done this before?" "Done what?" "Attacked two armed men with sticks?" "No, but I'm looking forward to it," he smiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lenahan/have-you-ever-done-this-before-done-what-attacked-two-armed-men-with/)

John Lenahan

> [I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the Armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pace/i-believe-that-homosexual-acts-between-individuals-are-immoral-and/)

[Peter Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pace/)

> [“Keep in mind that without the law, we’re not a military, just an armed gang that dresses alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marko-kloos/keep-in-mind-that-without-the-law-we-re-not-a-military-just-an-armed/)

[Marko Kloos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marko-kloos/)

> [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [We've had Saudis and Jordanians and Pakistanis who have - and Syrians - who have been involved in armed attacks against coalition forces in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/we-ve-had-saudis-and-jordanians-and-pakistanis-who-have-and-syrians/)

[Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/)

> [Scotland forms a crucial part of our Armed Forces which should not be jeopardised by rushed cuts or a rush to the exit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hammond/scotland-forms-a-crucial-part-of-our-armed-forces-which-should-not-be/)

[Philip Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hammond/)

> [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“Moroccan traffic isn't like normal traffic. It's armed combat, a war of wills, in which only the very bravest have a chance to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/moroccan-traffic-isn-t-like-normal-traffic-it-s-armed-combat-a-war-of/)

[Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/)

> [I have deep respect for our armed forces and jawans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-kumaraswamy/i-have-deep-respect-for-our-armed-forces-and-jawans/)

[H. D. Kumaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-kumaraswamy/)

> [“Neither the Russians nor the Americans were the cleverest people, or the most experienced, in the world that followed 1945. The French were rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach-2/neither-the-russians-nor-the-americans-were-the-cleverest-people-or/)

[T.R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach-2/)

> [“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/guard-with-jealous-attention-the-public-liberty-suspect-everyone-who/)

[Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/)

> [These men were religious when the spirit of religion was buried in forms and ceremonies, and when the priesthood had armed itself with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-a-hitchcock/these-men-were-religious-when-the-spirit-of-religion-was-buried-in/)

[Ethan A. Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-a-hitchcock/)

> [“How do you have an armed siege without guns?’ ‘She used Olympic standard archery equipment,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livia-day/how-do-you-have-an-armed-siege-without-guns-she-used-olympic-standard/)

Livia Day

> [A free people ought...to be armed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/a-free-people-ought-to-be-armed/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

Browse all 267 Armed quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edna O'Brien"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Armed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/edna-o-brien-2155_armed_the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-shoul_173528.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.” — Edna O'Brien",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Edna O'Brien",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The vote means nothing to women....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
