Women’s Rights are Human Rights by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Presented by Maria Castro

SOAPSTone- Speaker

• Hillary Rodham Clinton• First Lady (at time of speech)• Automatic ethos• Attended Wellesley College and was very active

in student politics• Continued onto Yale Law school and then Yale

Child Study Center• Worked in several committees in US

Government

SOAPSTone- Occasion

• United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women on September 5th, 1995 in Beijing, China

• 189 different audiences were in attendance• Were there to speak about issues women face

worldwide and came up with solutions on how to fix them

SOAPSTone- Audience• Specifically addresses Mrs. Mongella (Assistant Secretary-

General in the Division for the Advancement of Women)– “Mrs. Mongella, distinguished delegates and guests:”– “There are some people who question the reason for this

conference. Let them listen to the voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.”

• The rest of attendees at the conference• Anyone else listening or watching the broadcast who

could not attend the conference– “It is indefensible that many women in non-governmental

organizations who wished to participate in this conference have not been able to attend--- or have been prohibited from fully taking part.

SOAPSTone- Purpose

• To address the issues that women are facing in the US and all around the world and to find solutions to fix those problems. – “It is conferences like this that compel governments

and peoples everywhere to listen, look and face the world’s most pressing problems.”

– “Our goals for this conference, to strengthen families and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies.”

SOAPSTone- Subject

• To fight for equality and recognition of women’s rights also being human rights– “We also must recognize that women will never

gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected.”

– “The voices of this conference and of the women at Hairou must be heard loud and clear.”

SOAPSTone- Tone

• The tone used is simply calm, very persuasive, and emphasized every key point

• There were lots of times throughout the deliverance of her speech that the attendees cheered and slightly threw her off track, yet she composed herself and still continued.– “…cannot be fully achieved unless all governments---

here and around the world--- accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights.”

Ethos/Persona

• Has automatic ethos• First Lady of US• Identifies herself a few times throughout the

speech with her nationality to explain how she sees these daily struggles herself– “As an American, I want to speak up for women in my

own country—women who are raising children on the minimum wage, women who can’t afford health care or child care,…”

Pathos• Uses pathos numerous times to appeal to everyone

in the audience who are already majorly in favor of equality for women and the recognition of their basic rights– “Women are the primary caretakers for most of the

world’s children and elderly. Yet much of the work we do is not valued.”

– “Women are also dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated;”

– “We have also been reminded, in V-J Day observances last weekend, of the good that comes when men and women join together to combat the forces of tyranny.”

Logos

• Clinton uses logos to state facts to fortify her arguments and validate them– “Women comprise more than half the world’s

population. Women are 70 percent of the world’s poor, and two-thirds of those who are not taught to read and write.”

– “It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes.

Anaphora

• There are several instances in which this device is used by Clinton to emphasis the depth of her speech.– “It is a violation of human rights when babies are

denied food, or drowned, or suffocated… It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution…It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death…It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities…”

Euphemism

• Although she does bluntly state some harsh truths here and there, she does use a softer approach when making her points– “Tragically, women are most often the ones whose

human rights are violated.”– “It was one of America’s most divisive

philosophical wars. But it was also a bloodless war. Suffrage was achieved without a shot fired.

Paradox

• She often states several comments that may seem absurd to us, but is the truth that everyone still faces today– “But we have not solved older, deeply rooted

problems that continue to diminish the potential of half the world’s population.”

– “Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly. It means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of their governments.”

Citations

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXM4E23Efvk

• http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/women.html• http://www.biography.com/people/hillary-clin

ton-9251306#synopsis