Hillary Clinton Women's Rights Are Human Rights

In her speech, “Women’s Rights are Human Rights,” the then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton discusses the importance of fighting for women’s rights, as she argues they and human rights are one and the same. Clinton uses rhetoric, such as logic, empathy, and credibility, along with some propaganda to convince her audience of her point. The speech was given at the Fourth World Conference on Women on September 5, 1995 in order to convince people to stand up for women throughout the world and to respect their roles in society. Clinton supported women’s rights long before her speech. She had always been involved politically, first by being the president of the Young Republican’s club at her school (Harris). Eventually, Clinton saw the violent

In her first words, she mentions “mothers, wives, sisters, daughters,” and other female roles, automatically connecting to every person, as they at least have a mother, and if not, another important female in their life (Clinton). This allows her later points to sink in as if these sexist offences could be directed towards oneself (if female) or a woman/girl in the audience member’s life. She then goes on to talk about different scenarios in which women connect and play roles in their families and jobs, furthering her earlier point. Continuing with the sentiment and emotion, Clinton uses several propaganda techniques to further the empathy. According to Clinton, “there is far more that unites [the women of the world] than divides [them],” a reason for them to assist one another. This may be considered a glittering generality, as it sounds as if any political leader could use similar words in a rallying speech. She also mentions the “future” and talks about herself and other women as “we” and “our” (Clinton). She also repeats a phrase a few times, using verbal irony (repetition for effect), a propaganda technique. She says “there are some who question [the importance of women],” and later, “there are some who wonder [the importance of women]” (Clinton). Clinton then asks the audience if it was after a women’s conference that the world truly focused

She also uses some propaganda techniques in this section of her speech to capture support from her audience and other viewers. She talks about women who are dying from diseases, “watching their children succumb to malnutrition,” and how they are unable to attend school because of their male family members, and who are also being “forced into prostitution” and being “barred from the ballot box” (Clinton). Clinton expects these harsh images to sink in with her audience and for them to wish to seek action to protect these women, her ultimate goal. She also uses propaganda here, stating that “speaking to you today, I speak for them, just as each of us speaks for women around the world,” (Clinton) appealing to her audience as if she is “one of them,” otherwise known as the “plain folks appeal.” She then uses more propaganda techniques, glittering generalities, also invoking “pathos” in the audience when she mentions, “God-given potential” of women and how women should take control of their own “destinies” (Clinton). She uses these powerful words to create more emotion in the audience, furthering her empathy-heavy section of the speech. At this point, Clinton states the purpose of her speech and digs into the emotions of her audience. She says that “it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as