Rhetorical Analysis: Women's Rights Are Human Rights By Hilary Clinton

Hilary Clinton emphasizes the quote that “women’s rights are human rights” during the U.N. 4th world Conference that was held on September 5, 1995 in Beijing, China. She makes several points that contribute to her argument that women’s voices should be heard, that “if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish”, that what women go through is inhumane and should not be tolerated. To these points across she uses pathos, ethos, and logos, as well as efficient use of diction, repetition, and tone. We can say that the most dominant form rhetorical device that she uses is pathos. This speech is overflowing with pathetic appeals. She tugs on the audience’s heartstrings by bringing up heart breaking topics. She brings up the sad

She lists a series of abuse done to women that all start with “It is a violation of human rights when…” For example, she says, “It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed -- and the kinds of reasons that are used to justify this practice should no longer be tolerated.” These series of eight statements also gives a pathetic appeal because these types of tragedies cause the listener to have pity and compassion for the victim(s). Hilary Clinton impacts he audience with various ways that she explains all the abuse and torment women go through. Her diction consists of words that are horrifying and unpleasant. Such as, “violence”, “fire”, “death”, “burned”, “suffocated”, “drowned”, “greed”, “prostitution”, “rape”, etc. This use of diction creates a disgusted and harsh tone. All in all, Hilary Clinton really makes it clear that women’s rights are also human rights as well, that we can no longer abuse our mothers, sisters, and daughters anymore, that what women go through nowadays is inhumane and needs to come to an end; only then, can we live in peace. She makes these points using the three main rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as her clever use of diction, repetition and