Women's Rights Are Human Rights

The First Lady Hillary Clinton during her speech in Beijing, China.
The First Lady Hillary Clinton during her speech in Beijing, China.

"Women's Rights Are Human Rights" is a phrase used in the feminist movement and is the name of a speech given by Hillary Clinton, the First Lady of the United States, on 5 September 1995, at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.[1]

Speech

Footage of Clinton's speech in its entirety. At approximately the 14:45 mark, Clinton utters the line, "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all."

Clinton's speech argued against practices abusing women around the world and in China itself.[2] Targeting governments and organizations as well as individual females, she stated her belief that the issues facing women and girls are often either ignored or "silenced" and thus go unresolved.[3] Elements brought up in the speech include dowry deaths and China's one-child policy.[2]

Clinton declared "that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights".[2] Delegates from over 180 countries heard her say:

“ "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all."[4] ”

In making the speech, Clinton defied both internal administration pressure and external Chinese pressure to soften her remarks.[4][5]

Legacy

The speech is considered to be influential in the women's rights movement, and in 2013 Clinton led a review of how women's rights have changed since her 1995 speech.[6]

The speech was listed as number 35 in American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century (listed by rank).[7]

When running for President in 2015/2016, Hillary Clinton's campaign sold T-shirts stating "women's rights are human rights" at her campaign store, in reference to her speech.[8] The campaign also sold a bag that featured the phrase "Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights", which Hillary said in her speech; on the bag the phrase was shown in six languages.[9] As well, the campaign sold a Tory Burch T-shirt featuring the phrase "women's rights are human rights..." in capital letters.[10] The campaign also created photo references and displays of items necessary for five Halloween costumes, including "'Women’s rights are human rights' Hillary".[11][12]

In Jennifer Lopez's 2016 music video for her song "Ain't Your Mama", a sample of Clinton giving part of her speech can be heard, specifically, "Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all."[13][14]

Clinton took a similar position on LGBT rights in a 2011 speech to the United Nations on International Human Rights Day, declaring "[G]ay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights."[15]

References

  1. ↑ Fester, Gertrude (1994). "Women's Rights Are Human Rights". Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity. 20: 76–79. JSTOR 4065874.
  2. 1 2 3 Tyler, Patrick (September 6, 1995). "Hillary Clinton, In China, Details Abuse of Women". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Clinton, Hillary Rodham (1996). "Women's Rights Are Human Rights". Women's Studies Quarterly. 24 (1/2): 98–101. JSTOR 40004518.
  4. 1 2 Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach (March 6, 2011). "The Hillary Doctrine". Newsweek.
  5. ↑ Healy, Patrick (December 26, 2007). "The Résumé Factor: Those 8 Years as First Lady". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Rucker, Philip (September 25, 2013). "Hillary Clinton to lead review of progress for women since 1995 Beijing conference". The Washington Post.
  7. ↑ Michael E. Eidenmuller (2009-02-13). "Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century by Rank". American Rhetoric. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  8. ↑ Apparel. "The Trailblazer Tee | Shop | Hillary for America Shop". Shop.hillaryclinton.com. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  9. ↑ Accessories. "Statement Bag | The Shop". Shop.hillaryclinton.com. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  10. ↑ "Tory Burch Tee | The Shop". Shop.hillaryclinton.com. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  11. ↑ Singer, Paul (2015-01-21). "Hillary Clinton campaign sanctions official Halloween costume ideas | OnPolitics". Onpolitics.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  12. ↑ "Texts from Hillary and 4 other DIY Hillary Clinton costumes for Halloween | The Feed | Hillary for America". Hillaryclinton.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  13. ↑ Jennifer Lopez samples Hillary Clinton speech in new music video - NY Daily News
  14. ↑ American Rhetoric: Hillary Rodham Clinton - United Nations 4th World Conference Speech ("Women's Rights are Human Rights")
  15. ↑ Capehart, Jonathan (Dec 11, 2011). "Clinton's Geneva accord: 'Gay rights are human rights'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
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