Malala Speech Rhetorical Analysis: Empathy & Collective Voice

Amplifying Voices: Malala’s Rally for Global Educational Equity

In the state of Texas, children are required to attend school. If a child doesn’t attend school on a regular the child and their parents will be fined for non-compliance with attendance. As a child, they are taught that the key to success is school. The school sets the foundation for individuals’ future endeavors in life. As early as kindergarten, teachers ask students what career they would like to pursue when they get older.

The thought that children all across the world aren’t able to have that same opportunity to peacefully attend school. In some instances, they are risking their lives in order to even attend school to help better their future. Malala’s speech allowed us to understand that children’s lives are at stake for them to attend school. Individuals can no longer turn a blind eye to the warfare that these children are forced to succumb to. Throughout Malala’s speeches on different occasions, she continually grabs her audience’s attention with the things that she has personally gone through, things she has personally witnessed, and supporting facts about other children in other parts of the world. At such a young age, she was able to identify herself as a victor and not a victim. She speaks for all the children around the world.

Her speech empowers her emotive message to come through adequately. She appeals directly to the people who cherish the significance of education and regard for human rights. She assumes early on in her speech that everyone is aware of who Benazir Bhutto is. “I am wearing a shawl of the late Benazir Bhutto.” (Malala, par. 1). Benazir was a Pakistani chief who consumed all her time on earth fighting for education. She goes on in her speech to give her audience a more vivid picture of things that individuals have faced in the past and continue to face in the present day. She is giving her speech to all the children around the world, not just for herself. She looks at everyone; she constantly refers to everyone as brothers and sisters several times throughout her speech. In her eyes, we are all one who deserve the same rights and opportunities to pursue our education. She allows everyone to understand that no child, boy or girl, should live in fear of wanting to learn something new. She does a magnificent job of opening her audience’s eyes to the idea of individuals who are ignorant due to lack of knowledge. Due to their ignorance, they fear the unknown: education. The blind leading the blind.

Rhetorical Devices in Malala’s Speech: Uniting Voices for Global Change

She also identifies herself with activists before her time who also believed in standing up for what they believed in regardless of the price they may have to pay in the end. (Malala, par. 5) “I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah.” She understands that change comes with many sacrifices. She stands before her audience in great humility. Even after being shot in her head by terrorists, she had chosen to forgive them, just as the pioneers before she did. Even though she has experienced the mercilessness of individuals who don’t understand the significance of education, she understands the significance of the need for change, even if it means putting herself in harm’s way to get it done. She isn’t afraid of the consequences that may follow her after her speech. She is giving the speech to the children who can’t speak for themselves. She speaks for the individuals who have experienced the same circumstances, died, and the many others who have been harmed. She demonstrates that she is here to speak to everyone in the general population to help uncover the issues that influence numerous individuals, and it merits significantly more consideration. (Malala, par. 3) “I am just one of them. So here I stand. So here I stand, one girl, among many.”

Overall, Malala did an amazing job with her delivery of her message. She made sure she had plenty of supporting facts to support her claims on what is really going on around the world. She allows her audience to understand that this issue will require the work of everyone for anything to change. She allows individuals to see that no matter what the situation is, a child should be able to pursue their dreams and aspirations. She uses her personal story and the stories of others to convey her message to everyone listening. She allows them to see the world through her eyes and the eyes of many other children who can’t speak. Despite the nature of the topic, she didn’t leave out any of the facts. She opens the doors for everyone to see themselves and not just as individuals. She constantly uses the terms brother and sister throughout her speech. As a whole, it is our duty to understand that this is a fight for all of us. “No child left behind.”

References

1. Yousafzai, Malala. “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” Little, Brown and Company, 2013.
2. Lamb, Christina. “The Making of Malala.” Sunday Times Magazine, 2013.
3. UNESCO. “Education for All Global Monitoring Report.” UNESCO, various years.
4. Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.” Stanford Law Review, 1991.
5. Bitzer, Lloyd F. “The Rhetorical Situation.” Philosophy & Rhetoric, 1968.
6. Booth, Wayne C. “The Rhetoric of Rhetoric: The Quest for Effective Communication.” Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

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