Hillary Clinton's Violence Against Women
Analysis of the Speech
Clinton points out the violence that women around the world are subjected to has been brought upon not only by certain legal policies, but also by the cultural norms that have become acceptable due to such policies.
“No one—No one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse, or torture.” (Clinton)
“Let us heed that call so we can create a world in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity…”(Clinton) * Rights are something that the government grants to its citizens. Hillary Clinton advocates for respect and dignity should be a right every woman deserves to have. She also tries to diminish the idea that certain cultural factors in society, including …show more content…
religion, should not prevent women from enjoying these rights. The government, in Clinton’s eyes, should not only promote policies that give women equality and a violence free life, but they should also stop certain cultural aspects from getting in the way of such freedoms.
When addressing her audience, Clinton makes sure to put the burden of making a legal change possible in all the world leaders attending the conference, including herself.
“By gathering in Beijing, we are focusing world attention on issues that matter most in our lives—the lives of women and their families: access to education, health care, jobs and credit, the chance to enjoy basic legal and human rights and to participate fully in the political life of our countries.” (Clinton)
“It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and for the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights.” (Clinton) * Since government officials are only ones who are able to make a difference in the legal aspect of Clinton’s request to resolve the violence women experience, her using the “we” and “us” pronouns when referring to her audience is particularly important because she is inclusive of all those present in the conference. By doing this, she creates ethos by developing a credibility for herself. She does not try to excuse the United States and openly agrees that all countries are responsible for limiting the violence against females as well as promoting a better standard of living for women through different policies.
The speech is very inclusive of the problems with abuse against women’s rights across the board, however, Clinton, although not saying it bluntly, develops her appeals in a way in which she directly attacks the Chinese government, host country of the conference.
“As an American, I want to speak for those women in my own country, women who are raising children on the minimum wage, women who can’t afford health care or child care, women whose lives are threatened by violence, including violence in their own homes” (Clinton).
“In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. It took 150 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote. It took 72 years of organized struggle, before that happened, on the part of many courageous women and men. It was one of America’s most divisive philosophical wars. But it was a bloodless war. Suffrage was achieved without a single shot being fired” (Clinton).
“Women must enjoy the rights to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries, if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure. It is indefensible that many women in nongovernmental organizations who shed to participate in this conference have not been able to attend—or have been prohibited from fully taking part” (Clinton).
“It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed… when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire, and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small… when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war…when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14-44 is violence they are subjected by their own relatives…when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation…” (Clinton) * It is interesting to see the shift in audiences when Clinton addresses the violence in culture. She describes, very vividly, the violence that cultures around the world make their females undergo. However, when she speaks about the treatment of women in America, she tends to focus more on the legal aspects, such as the poverty brought upon by inequality and the suffrage movement. She also, very obviously, points the finger at the Chinese government when she mentions that many of the common people, especially women, were not allowed to attend the Conference. The prevention of getting informed about the rights and dignity they deserve makes women more oppressed than ever before in Chinese culture.
Interestingly enough, Clinton seems to conflate the cultural norms of violence against women as being promoted by the Chinese Communist Party.
“In the 1980’s and 1990’s, coercive enforcement strained relations between the ruling Communist party and the peasantry, damaged women’s reproductive health, and exacerbated discrimination and violence against infant girls.”(Greenhalg 1)
“It is the violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls…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 by there own relatives…It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.” (Clinton) *Clinton seems to be putting all the blame of the cultural violence against women as being a result of the policies created by the one child policy.
She creates pathos by including the graphic descriptions of some of the situations women are subjected to. A constraint she never takes into account is the role of patriarchy in many of the countries she is presenting to. She makes reference to some of the violences women in these countries experience, and she speaks out against such treatment. However, she fails to recognize that such practices are commonly accepted in a patriarchal society. Because of this, most of these practices have become cultural norms that cannot be easily undone by the …show more content…
government.
Implications of Analysis
In America, even though we claim that there is equal treatment for all citizens, no matter the race, gender, age, or religious background, all these factors still experience some sort of injustice. In terms of gender and sex, women continue to get a lesser pay then their male counterparts when they are working in similar industries. Also, there are jobs that have not been available to women, including the presidency of the nation. Mrs. Clinton is currently making a bid as the democratic candidate for the position, but even with such progress, instead of worrying about her platform, many choose to pay attention to her husband’s scandal during his presidency, or what title he will bear as the spouse of the possible future president. Although a much more progressive country compared to some of the ones Clinton was presenting to in the World Conference, the speech puts into perspective how America still has some work to do in order to ensure equality for all the people.
Ultimately, the discourse delivered by Clinton proved to be an effective method to address and solve the issues with human rights.
Although she did not address all of the constraints present in the environment, including the patriarchal traditional beliefs of the host country, she was able to get Chinese officials to take action and such action resulted in the Beijing Platform. The effect of the discourse continues to be reminiscent today. China recently announced that the government has decided to do away with the one child policy and change it to two child policy.
Conclusion
Hillary Clinton wants for the government officials present at the conference to take a look at their existing policies that might promote any type of violence or inequality against women and reevaluate them to make the culture a more accepting society.
Review of Major Claims Used to Support Thesis
Violence towards the female population in countries all over the world is continues to be prevalent because there are no laws at the time to prevent such behavior, which further promote negative cultural norms opposing
women.
By using the pronouns “we” and “us”, Clinton puts charge on all the government officials present in the conference to make legal changes to put an end to laws that promote brutality against women.
The rhetor addresses two types of negative treatments against women: legal and cultural. However, when she mentions the United States, she only really specifies the legal matters, while for the other countries, specifically China, she focuses on the traditions.
Clinton ultimately believes that the cultural beliefs of Chinese society are promoted by the ideologies of the Communist government set in place.
“Women’s Rights are Human Rights” What does that really mean in today’s society? Does it mean that every human being has the right to chose their profession and expect similar pay? Does it mean that no matter your gender, you will be treated with dignity and respect? Clinton makes clear how there should be no difference between women and men; women are entitled to every right that is granted to the opposite sex, no questions asked because we are all equal.
Clinton points out the violence that women around the world are subjected to has been brought upon not only by certain legal policies, but also by the cultural norms that have become acceptable due to such policies.
“No one—No one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse, or torture.” (Clinton)
“Let us heed that call so we can create a world in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity…”(Clinton) * Rights are something that the government grants to its citizens. Hillary Clinton advocates for respect and dignity should be a right every woman deserves to have. She also tries to diminish the idea that certain cultural factors in society, including …show more content…
religion, should not prevent women from enjoying these rights. The government, in Clinton’s eyes, should not only promote policies that give women equality and a violence free life, but they should also stop certain cultural aspects from getting in the way of such freedoms.
When addressing her audience, Clinton makes sure to put the burden of making a legal change possible in all the world leaders attending the conference, including herself.
“By gathering in Beijing, we are focusing world attention on issues that matter most in our lives—the lives of women and their families: access to education, health care, jobs and credit, the chance to enjoy basic legal and human rights and to participate fully in the political life of our countries.” (Clinton)
“It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and for the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights.” (Clinton) * Since government officials are only ones who are able to make a difference in the legal aspect of Clinton’s request to resolve the violence women experience, her using the “we” and “us” pronouns when referring to her audience is particularly important because she is inclusive of all those present in the conference. By doing this, she creates ethos by developing a credibility for herself. She does not try to excuse the United States and openly agrees that all countries are responsible for limiting the violence against females as well as promoting a better standard of living for women through different policies.
The speech is very inclusive of the problems with abuse against women’s rights across the board, however, Clinton, although not saying it bluntly, develops her appeals in a way in which she directly attacks the Chinese government, host country of the conference.
“As an American, I want to speak for those women in my own country, women who are raising children on the minimum wage, women who can’t afford health care or child care, women whose lives are threatened by violence, including violence in their own homes” (Clinton).
“In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. It took 150 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote. It took 72 years of organized struggle, before that happened, on the part of many courageous women and men. It was one of America’s most divisive philosophical wars. But it was a bloodless war. Suffrage was achieved without a single shot being fired” (Clinton).
“Women must enjoy the rights to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries, if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure. It is indefensible that many women in nongovernmental organizations who shed to participate in this conference have not been able to attend—or have been prohibited from fully taking part” (Clinton).
“It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed… when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire, and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small… when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war…when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14-44 is violence they are subjected by their own relatives…when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation…” (Clinton) * It is interesting to see the shift in audiences when Clinton addresses the violence in culture. She describes, very vividly, the violence that cultures around the world make their females undergo. However, when she speaks about the treatment of women in America, she tends to focus more on the legal aspects, such as the poverty brought upon by inequality and the suffrage movement. She also, very obviously, points the finger at the Chinese government when she mentions that many of the common people, especially women, were not allowed to attend the Conference. The prevention of getting informed about the rights and dignity they deserve makes women more oppressed than ever before in Chinese culture.
Interestingly enough, Clinton seems to conflate the cultural norms of violence against women as being promoted by the Chinese Communist Party.
“In the 1980’s and 1990’s, coercive enforcement strained relations between the ruling Communist party and the peasantry, damaged women’s reproductive health, and exacerbated discrimination and violence against infant girls.”(Greenhalg 1)
“It is the violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls…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 by there own relatives…It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.” (Clinton) *Clinton seems to be putting all the blame of the cultural violence against women as being a result of the policies created by the one child policy.
She creates pathos by including the graphic descriptions of some of the situations women are subjected to. A constraint she never takes into account is the role of patriarchy in many of the countries she is presenting to. She makes reference to some of the violences women in these countries experience, and she speaks out against such treatment. However, she fails to recognize that such practices are commonly accepted in a patriarchal society. Because of this, most of these practices have become cultural norms that cannot be easily undone by the …show more content…
government.
Implications of Analysis
In America, even though we claim that there is equal treatment for all citizens, no matter the race, gender, age, or religious background, all these factors still experience some sort of injustice. In terms of gender and sex, women continue to get a lesser pay then their male counterparts when they are working in similar industries. Also, there are jobs that have not been available to women, including the presidency of the nation. Mrs. Clinton is currently making a bid as the democratic candidate for the position, but even with such progress, instead of worrying about her platform, many choose to pay attention to her husband’s scandal during his presidency, or what title he will bear as the spouse of the possible future president. Although a much more progressive country compared to some of the ones Clinton was presenting to in the World Conference, the speech puts into perspective how America still has some work to do in order to ensure equality for all the people.
Ultimately, the discourse delivered by Clinton proved to be an effective method to address and solve the issues with human rights.
Although she did not address all of the constraints present in the environment, including the patriarchal traditional beliefs of the host country, she was able to get Chinese officials to take action and such action resulted in the Beijing Platform. The effect of the discourse continues to be reminiscent today. China recently announced that the government has decided to do away with the one child policy and change it to two child policy.
Conclusion
Hillary Clinton wants for the government officials present at the conference to take a look at their existing policies that might promote any type of violence or inequality against women and reevaluate them to make the culture a more accepting society.
Review of Major Claims Used to Support Thesis
Violence towards the female population in countries all over the world is continues to be prevalent because there are no laws at the time to prevent such behavior, which further promote negative cultural norms opposing
women.
By using the pronouns “we” and “us”, Clinton puts charge on all the government officials present in the conference to make legal changes to put an end to laws that promote brutality against women.
The rhetor addresses two types of negative treatments against women: legal and cultural. However, when she mentions the United States, she only really specifies the legal matters, while for the other countries, specifically China, she focuses on the traditions.
Clinton ultimately believes that the cultural beliefs of Chinese society are promoted by the ideologies of the Communist government set in place.
“Women’s Rights are Human Rights” What does that really mean in today’s society? Does it mean that every human being has the right to chose their profession and expect similar pay? Does it mean that no matter your gender, you will be treated with dignity and respect? Clinton makes clear how there should be no difference between women and men; women are entitled to every right that is granted to the opposite sex, no questions asked because we are all equal.