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

Edna O’Brien, fierce chronicler of women’s struggles, once uttered words that shook like thunder: “The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.” This was no idle provocation, but a cry of rage at the slow machinery of change, at the centuries in which rights on paper failed to shield women from violence, subjugation, and silence. The vote, hard-won and celebrated, was for her insufficient when laws still bent toward men and when power ignored the daily realities of women’s suffering. To be armed was not only to carry weapons of steel, but to be fortified in spirit, to claim strength rather than wait for deliverance.

The origin of this cry can be traced to O’Brien’s own life. An Irish novelist, she dared to speak openly of women’s desires and torments in a society that sought to silence them. For this, she was scorned, censored, and cast out by the very institutions that claimed moral authority. She saw clearly that political rights, though necessary, did not guarantee freedom in practice. Thus her fierce statement: until women are armed with courage, knowledge, and sometimes even force, the promises of equality remain fragile.

History offers us the fiery example of the suffragettes in Britain, who, when peaceful petitions failed, turned to militancy under the banner of Emmeline Pankhurst. Windows were smashed, fires were lit, and chains were broken in protest. These women, though vilified, forced a nation to reckon with their demands. Their “arms” were not only stones and fire, but the unyielding will to disrupt a system that mocked their patience. O’Brien’s words echo their spirit: when rights are ignored, resistance must grow sharper.

There is also the story of Sojourner Truth, who declared, “I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man.” Her “arming” was her body, her voice, her indomitable presence. She did not wait for permission to be recognized, but claimed her own power, shaming those who denied her humanity. Her life is a living testament to O’Brien’s conviction that women must not rely solely on the parchment of rights but must seize the mantle of strength.

Therefore, O daughters of tomorrow, let O’Brien’s fire dwell within you. Take the vote, but do not be lulled into believing it alone can shield you. Arm yourselves with education, with solidarity, with defiance, and yes, with the courage to confront a world that resists your freedom. For power respects not words alone but the force behind them. The true weapon of women is the refusal to be silenced, the refusal to be meek, the refusal to wait. And with such arms, no promise of liberty can ever again be denied.