On July 12, 2013, noted human rights activist and Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai spoke in front of the United Nations on the subject of human rights violations in Pakistan and elsewhere. The speech was a powerful and affecting one, Malala using her harrowing story of being shot in the head by the Taliban, and her subsequent recovery, as a case study for the need for UN intervention in the Middle East to address issues of the violation of human rights. Throughout the speech, Malala’s use of delivery, pathos and audience adaptation provided her with a tremendously effective and heart-stopping speech which substantially raised awareness of these urgent issues to the United Nations and the world at large.
Malala’s delivery of the speech was an incredibly important part of the speech’s effectiveness; her use of body language, tone and dress was integral to getting the points of her speech across. Arriving at the United Nations, her appearance played a large part in the power of her words; Malala was a small, timid-looking, unassuming Pakistani girl, wearing a pink hijab as a symbol of solidarity for others who have been victimized like her. Her voice had an intelligible but pronounced Pakistani accent, lending her words a lyricism and profundity that made them sound important and grave. Her manner of speech was slow but methodical, unassuming yet formal; she sounded incredibly natural, yet authoritative. She seemed to choose her words very carefully, and made effective use of pause to let the import of her words take hold with her audience. At first, her voice was at a normal volume, speaking authoritatively yet calmly. As the list of atrocities grew, and her demands to the third world leaders begun, her volume rose, making her points more declarative and inspiring. Her body language was somewhat stiff and austere, but she used hand gestures such as pointing and counting on fingers to emphasize particular points and emphasize passion. These factors and more made the delivery of her speech particularly effective.
Malala’s use of pathos was incredibly effective, especially as she was able to draw from personal experience to affect the emotions of the audience. The beginning of her speech, in which she thanked everyone for allowing her to attend and expressing doubt about what she has to say, allowed her to appear humble and grateful for their audience – a good strategy for earning the favor of said audience. During her points, she called herself “one girl among many,” which allowed her to show the audience that these please do not just come from her, but she represented multitudes of people. The “rights” that she listed near the top of the speech were ones that everyone can agree on – “their right to live in peacetheir right to be treated with dignitytheir right to equality of opportunity,” etc. Immediately following that, she gave the details of the gunshot wound she suffered in the head from the Taliban, immediately shocking the audience into sympathizing with her. Framing that story as an attempt to “silence” her and her friends, Malala implicitly and explicitly urged the others to act upon their emotions and sympathy to help advance their cause. By contrasting the Taliban’s violence with her peaceful measures, and the urging of others to engage peacefully, Malala evoked a protective and sympathetic emotion from her listeners. She used other stories of murder and death at the hands of the Taliban, quotes from innocent boys who understand these simple points of peace, allowing the United Nations to feel empathetic towards these children and want to take action. These points and more allowed Malala to use pathos quite strongly in their speech.
Malala also took great care to adapt her speech for her audience – the United Nations. By speaking in universal terms, Malala managed to align her interests and that of her cause with those of the UN; her goals were “education, peace and equality,” equality in particular being of interest in a unified coalition of nations who seek a common goal. She referred to them as “friends,” “sisters and brothers,” and more, ingratiating herself upon them and offering thanks for even hearing her out; as the UN was an organization of respect and high import, it showed great humility on her part and allows them to feel more connected to her. The subject of human rights violations was emphasized in particular, as was education, both things that the UN was incredibly interested in (one of the UN’s main goals being to minimize human rights violations by imposing sanctions on other countries who commit them). Utilizing names of respect and talking about universally lauded goals that fall in with her audience’s priorities are ways in which Malala uses audience adaptation to her advantage.
Malala’s speech to the UN in July 2013 was a tremendously effective speech; her delivery was simple, humble yet powerful, and she manages to instill a sense of strong pathos in her audience. She chooses her words carefully to her specific audience to get the most impact. By following these rules, Malala created and delivered a fantastic, influential speech to the heads of major world powers.
Works Cited
BBC News. “Malala Yousafzai speech in full.” BBC News Asia.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23291897>.
