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Ruchi Maskey
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
22 February 2016
Hillary Clinton advocating for Womens Equality
Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered this speech on Womens Rights are Humans Rights
at the United Nations Fourth World Conference in Beijing, China on September fifth, 1995. The
audience consisted of government representative and organizations from very many different
countries that would help achieve her goal. The aim of the speech was to persuade the audience
to treat women with equality in every field. Ethos, pathos, and logos from Hillary Clintons
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women Speech emphasize that womens rights are
human rights and they should be treated with equal dignity and respect.
Supporting women and their hardships, Hillary Clinton creates ethos in her speech in
order to build character and credibility. She starts off by thanking the Secretary General and
acknowledges that this conference is a celebration of the contributions women make in every
aspect of life: in the home, on the job, in the communities, as mothers, wives, learners, workers,
citizens (Clinton par.2). This line interprets that women play an important role in every part of
life whether it is as a mother, daughter, an employee or a civilian. They work hard every day in
order to fulfill their families and childrens needs and also provide services as a nurse, teacher or
an officer. By speaking highly of the contributions made by women, Clinton is establishing
character which makes the audience believe that she is a credible speaker and aims to change the
way women are treated and give them the equal rights they deserve.

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With the use of logos, Clinton states some facts and emphasizes about women equality.
She claims that women make up about sixty percent of the worlds population and there are
women out there who do not have the privilege of going to school and learning new skills. In her
speech, she mentions that Women comprise more than half the worlds population, and twothirds of them are still not taught to read and write (Clinton par. 11). One of the major issues
that is being addressed in the speech is lack of education for women. This leads to male
dominance in society and women being treated unfairly. If women are educated and given the
same opportunity, they will be respected and treated fairly as men. The use of this logical appeal
by Clinton makes the audience aware about the women population, their literacy rate and states
that by providing equal education to men and women, we can create a better future.
Hillary Clinton uses pathos to mention the physical and mental abuses faced by women.
She addresses that women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now,
in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed
conflict (Clinton par. 19). In some parts of the world, women are not treated humanely, they are
being tortured, raped and violated. There have been several rape cases that have gone unnoticed,
without any consequences for the criminals. Therefore, on behalf of those helpless women,
Hillary is standing up for human rights for women. She is claiming that women should feel safe
and protected and have equal rights as men. The use of this emotional appeal persuades the
audience that women are not receiving the rights they deserve and should be treated equally with
morality and dignity.
Furthermore, pathos is used by Clinton to affirm the injustices faced by women every day
in their life. This is highlighted in the speech where she addresses that, As long as

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discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace everywhere in the world, as long as girls
and women are valued less, fed less, overworked, underpaid the potential of the human family
to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized. (Clinton par. 32). She is speaking on
a very important issue and informing the audience that if women are continued to be treated
unfairly and being underpaid for the same amount of work they do as men, they will never be
able to create a prosperous life to their family and contribute to the society and the world. The
fact that women are doing the same amount of work as men but being paid half the amount
makes the audience feel pity towards women. With the use of this emotional appeal, she is
persuading the audience to take a stand against this injustice and help provide equal convenience
to women.
Clinton closes the speech by recommending let this conference be our and the worlds
call to action. (Clinton par. 33). She mentions that after this speech, she wants to create a
world where every woman and every girl is treated with dignity and respect. She hopes to make
changes for women so that they are not looked down upon, are given equal opportunities and the
basic human rights that everyone deserves. Her goal is to create a world with a strong and stable
future where women and men all over the world are treated the same. After the speech, she
desires to see better improvements and equality for women.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was successful in putting her point across and addressing the
issues regarding womens equality. She uses different persuasive elements in her speech to
demonstrate that womens rights are human rights and they should be granted equal opportunities
to work and succeed. She asserts that if women are treated equally, then not only
her family and children, but society and the nation as a whole will prosper and consequently help

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create a world with no discrimination or injustice.

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Work Cited
Clinton, Hillary. United Nations Fourth World Conference. AmericanRhetoric.
AmericanRhetoric. n.d. Web. 5 Feb 2016.