Topic

As its title indicates, Hillary Clinton’s speech “Women's Rights are Human Rights” is about women’s rights. The topics the speaker specifically focuses on are women’s rights violations and gender discriminati…

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Women’s rights violations and gender discrimination

First, the speaker explores the issue of gender bias, by arguing that women’s contributions to the world often go unnoticed: “There are some who wonder whether the lives of women and girls matter to economic and political progress around the globe.” (ll. 32-34); “Yet much of the work we do is not valued -- not by economists, not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders.” (ll. 88-90)

Within the first part of the speech, the speaker focuses on the experiences and challenges shared by women around the world, and on the limitations women …

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Argumentation

There are two types of argumentation speakers can use to convey their views—direct or hidden. Direct argumentation means being straightforward and clear about one’s views and arguments in relation to the topics explored. Hidden argumentation means implying certain views and arguments without stating them directly.

The speech “Women's Rights Are Human Rights” is mostly structured using direct argumentation. Firstly, the speaker identifies the issues that need to be addressed and the goals of the conference:

…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. (ll. 25-29)

Secondly, the speaker constructs a straightforward case about how women ar…