Sarah Bailin Rhetoric Analysis Paper CAS 137H Section 08 October 10, 2013 Hillary Clintons Speech to the

United Nations World Conference on Women

In September 1995, the United Nations held the Fourth World Conference on Women Plenary Session in Beijing, China. There were thousands of dignified political leaders and speakers in attendance at the conference, one of them being Hillary Clinton, the American First Lady. Clinton delivered a speech to the audience of the conference, designed to promote the advancement of womens rights internationally. The content and delivery of Clintons speech is intended to remind the representatives at the convention why they have an obligation to promote womens rights, as well as demonstrate to an international audience why they should be concerned with the cause as well. The audience present at the conference was sympathetic to the idea of womens rights because many of the people there were political leaders from their respective countries, or representatives from humans rights organizations who were also looking to promote Womens rights. Therefore Clinton did not need to convince this audience that womens rights were an important issue. However, Clinton uses the representatives elevated political and social standings to remind them of their obligations towards the cause, by stating Those of us who have the opportunity to be here have the responsibility to speak for those who could not (Clinton). Clinton appeals to pathos by saying I speak for those women in my own

country just as each of us speaks for women around the world who are denied the chance to go to school, or see a doctor, or own property, or have a say in the direction of their lives, simply because they are women (Clinton). Many of the women at the conference can empathize with this, because they had to overcome similar barriers and obstacles during their lifetimes to achieve the success they currently have. Clinton calls attention to this in her speech by relating to them emotionally, which helps to emphasize the content and objective of the speech. Clintons second intended audience is people all over the world who are not present at the conference. Clinton wants to show this international population that it is necessary for them to start to get involved in the advancement of Womens rights as well. Clinton states, If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. This is an appeal to logos, because a logical goal for families, communities and nations all over the world is success, which Clinton states is a tangible goal if women are given more opportunities outside the home. This is why, Clinton says, that every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on this planet does have a stake in the discussion that takes place here (Clinton). The rhetoric is designed to make the audience feel that no matter their nationality, social standing, gender, or age, they have the power to help in the advancement of womens rights, and that ultimately this will have a positive effect on their lives. Lastly, Clinton speaks out to the naysayers, who question the reason for this conference. There are obviously people all over the world who will resist what the

conference is advocating, or people who do support the cause, but do not believe that a conference has the ability to improve what must be done. To these cynics, Clinton points out that It is conferences like this that compel governments and peoples everywhere to listen, look, and face the worlds most pressing problems. Wasnt it after all- after the womens conference in Nairobi ten years ago that the world focused for the first time on the crisis of domestic violence? (Clinton). By drawing attention to a previous conference in Nairobi, and the improvements made there concerning domestic violence, Clinton is demonstrating how conferences and rhetoric have acted as catalysts for change and improvement in the past. This gives her speech more ethos and credibility, as well as begins to silence the conferences critics. Clinton does point out that developments can take time, but that they can be attained peacefully. In (the United States), we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Womens Suffrage. It took 72 years of organized struggle It was one of Americas most divisive philosophical wars. But it was a bloodless war. Suffrage was achieved without a shot being fired (Clinton). Through this example, Clinton shows that the cause they are all supporting can be attained, and that their efforts are worthwhile. As a prominent woman in society and politics, Clinton has had the opportunity to travel to many countries and experience cultures and differing ideals firsthand. Clinton states she has met women in South Africa, India and Bangladesh and doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukrainewho worked to provide for their families and help their nation in any way that they can. By naming specific countries, Clinton is reaching out to those listeners in a more personal

manner, to help make her message more effective. She also incorporates some of these experiences into her speech as examples to show how she has seen women who work just as hard as men, Yet much of the work (women) do is not valued- not by economists, not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders (Clinton). Many women in the audience can relate to being undervalued by society, which gives them all common ground to connect to one another, despite differences in nationality and social standing. Furthermore, there is slight irony in the fact that this speech about Women and Humans rights was delivered in China, a country that is infamous for their human rights policies. However, the kairos of this rhetorical situation is an essential aspect in Clintons speech. The fact that Clinton chose to deliver this speech at a conference held in China draws more attention to the issue, because for many of the audience members, when they think of China, one thought that comes to mind is a lack of human rights. And as Clinton points out in her speech, Humans rights are womens rights and womens rights are humans rights (Clinton). The location where Clinton delivered this speech is a critical aspect in regards to the content, purpose and effectiveness of the speech. Throughout the speech, Clinton uses fairly simple rhetoric, because she is addressing an international audience, which mostly does not speak English as a first language. She constantly uses the pronouns we and our and us to connect with the audience on a more personal level, as well as make them feel as if they are part of a large community working together towards a common goal and a better world. She repeats the line It is a violation human rights multiple times when

addressing specific issues affecting women worldwide. This repetition not only emphasizes Clintons main point, that womens rights are equal to humans rights, but also demonstrates the considerable number of issues that Clinton wants the audience to focus on. Hillary Clinton was the First Lady at the time she delivered this speech; therefore she had political influence and authority in the fight for more Womens rights. Clinton knew how to use rhetoric and her experiences to relate to her audience, while also explaining what she thought needed to be done. At the end of her speech, Clinton says, The time is now. We must move beyond rhetoric. We must move beyond recognition of problems to working together, to have the common efforts to build that common ground we hope to see (Clinton). Although Clinton knew that most of the real change in the quality of womens lives would come from work done outside of the conference room, her speech was designed perfectly to motivate the audience and remind them of what needed to be done to increase womens rights internationally.