how to write a speech on women's rights

Writing A Women’s Day Speech: 7 Tips and Examples

Every year on March 8th, the world recognizes International Women’s Day. It’s a day for celebrating the economic, social, cultural, and political accomplishments of women and for celebrating Women’s Rights . In 1911, over a million people from Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland celebrated the first International Women’s Day . Today, in addition to celebrating women’s achievements, IWD is an opportunity to call for gender equality and justice. Speeches are held at events around the world. How do you write a good speech for International Women’s Day? Here are seven tips and examples:

Tip #1: Know your audience

Before writing a speech, you want to know who your audience is and what they care about. Without this information, you may write something that doesn’t resonate. It may not be bad, but it may miss the mark. As an example, if you don’t know recent college graduates make up most of your audience, you may write a speech that fails to take into account their youth, their goals (like starting a career), their knowledge and experience of history, and so on. Your audience’s age is just one piece of information about them. In a 2019 article on Ideas.Ted.com , Briar Goldberg describes how audiences can be broken into three types: expert, novice, and mixed. If you’re speaking to an expert audience, you’ll rely on more complex arguments and terminology than if you were speaking to a novice audience. With mixed audiences, appealing to emotions is often the best choice.

At the 2020 International Finance Corporation’s celebration event for International Women’s Day, the CEO Philippe Le Houérou spoke to his audience’s interests by focusing on economics, numbers, and ways IFC is addressing gender inequality, saying :

“At IFC, we have developed a comprehensive approach to reducing gender inequality. We create partnerships to encourage the hiring of women and improve their working conditions. We help expand access to financial services for women. We invest in innovative technologies that expand choices for female consumers and employment. And we work with partners to provide business skills and leadership training to women entrepreneurs.”

Tip #2: Write a strong opening

A strong opening engages the listener and gives them a general roadmap of your speech. Depending on your speech’s context and audience, you can experiment with opening styles. If you’re speaking to a general audience, an anecdote is a great way to capture your listener’s attention and get them emotionally invested. If your audience consists of experts or academics, it might be best to keep your introduction as brief as possible (many speeches begin with thank yous), so you can spend more time on the speech’s main points.

Consider then-UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri’s 2013 speech to the mostly-expert audience of the Open Society Foundation. Her topic was on the importance of girls’ education. After thanking the audience, she opened with strong, clear language to emphasize the speech’s main message:

“Your Excellencies, fellow panelists, ladies and gentlemen. I am honoured to be participating in this very important side event on the right to education in the post-2015 agenda. I sincerely thank the International Council for Adult Education, the Global Campaign for Education and all of the convening organizations for inviting me to speak today. UN Women considers that education is one of the greatest game-changers for women and girls around the world. It is both an enabler and force multiplier for women’s economic, political and social empowerment and gender equality.”

Tip #3: Include statistics to support your claims

When you’re writing a speech about issues like gender equality in education, healthcare, or the workplace, you want to give the audience specific information about the issue. Without key statistics , the audience won’t know how serious an issue is or what progress is being made. It isn’t enough to say that “many” girls don’t receive equal education compared to boys or that things are “improving.” What are the actual numbers? Sharing statistics also shows you did your research, which gives your words credibility.

You can also include data to show what specific organizations are doing and how they’re impacting gender equality. That’s what Michelle Obama did in her 2016 speech at the Let Girls Learn event that celebrated Women’s Day. She sprinkled facts through her speech on how Let Girls Learn was making a difference. Here’s an example:

“Folks of all ages and all walks of life are stepping up, as well. More than 1,600 people in nearly all 50 states have donated money to Let Girls Learn Peace Corps projects. Our #62MillionGirls hashtag was the number-one hashtag in the U.S., with people across the country talking about the power of education. And we’ll be launching the next phase of this social media campaign next week at South by Southwest.”

Tip #4: Strike the right tone

How do you want to present yourself? What kinds of emotions do you want to stir in your audience? These types of questions help you identify the appropriate tone for your speech. This is another reason why knowing your audience matters. When you’re speaking to a group of seasoned experts in a formal setting, your tone will likely sound more analytical and logical. If you were speaking in a more casual environment to a group unfamiliar with your subject, you’ll probably want to adopt a more personal, conversational style. If you want to provoke emotions in your listeners and get them to care, stories are very effective. If your goal is to inform and educate, it’s wise to rely on facts and stats.

Tracee Ellis Ross’ 2018 TED Talk on women’s anger is a great example of a speech with a tone that fits the speech’s context. She’s speaking to a mixed-gender audience in a non-academic setting. Because the topic she’s covering is personal, she uses a conversational, almost intimate style that switches between the first and second person. She addresses both the women and men in the audience, but keeps the women centered. Here’s an example toward the end of the speech:

“Our culture is shifting, and it’s time. So my fellow women and our gentle men, as we are here together within this particular window of this large-scale movement towards women’s equality, and as we envision a future that does not yet exist, we both have different invitations.”

Tip #5: Pay attention to structure

At their most basic, speeches consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Each section serves an important purpose. The introduction establishes your credibility, the speech’s tone, and its goals. The body, which is the main part of the speech, fills in the points you want to cover using statistics, stories, or other forms of evidence. The conclusion wraps everything up and emphasizes what you want your audience to remember. Unlike something that’s written, your audience can’t look back to find their way if they get lost, so as you move through the three sections, you want things to be as clear and simple as possible.

In 2021, Srishti Baksh gave a TedTalk relating her 2,300-mile walk journey across India where she held driving workshops to empower women’s ability to move across the country. She uses a simple structure that opens with the story of the first time she went to a movie alone with her friends at age 14. She was assaulted in the theater. She then zooms out, describing how there are 600 million women in India, but women rarely go outside because they’re not safe. In the body of her speech, she zooms back in to talk about her walking journey, the women she met, the empowering and terrifying things she witnessed, and how she joined forces with another woman to create a movement that trains female drivers. She concludes with a clear message:

“By rethinking mobility for women, giving them a safe transport and safety outside of home, it is our hope to transform our culture. Apart from having a profound impact on the Indian economy, this is about something much bigger. As you all know, when we move, we can be seen. The more women see other women in public spaces, the more safe, independent and empowered each one of us will be. So. If we can learn how to walk, certainly we can learn how to fly.”

Tip #6: Use repetition to your advantage

How do you make sure your audience gets the point of your speech? How do you make your speech – which might be one of many speeches the audience sits through – memorable? Repetition. You want to repeat your main point throughout your speech. It’s a good idea to include it at least three times: in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. There are other types of repetition that make your speech memorable, too. Repetition can include keywords, phrases, and even the sounds of words. Repetition looks different depending on what kind of speech you’re giving. If you’re giving an emotion-driven speech, frequent repetition of the same words/phrases adds to the emotional punch. For informational or educational speeches where powerful emotions aren’t necessarily appropriate, use different words/phrases to repeat the main point.

For an example of good repetition in a speech, let’s look at Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s 2016 Keynote at Women of the World . From a word search, it’s clear what the speech is about. Together, the words “intersectionality” and “intersectional” appear 42 times. Repetition is found within sentences and paragraphs, too:

“There are multiple forms of intersectionality . I could talk about a lot of them, but the kind of intersectionality that I most want to talk about is the intersectionality around politics – political intersectionality .”

“So the question we have to ask is, what can we each do about it? We’ve been saying the first thing you can do about it is say her name. Do not allow her death to happen in silence. Do not allow their children, their loved ones to grieve for them in silence. Do not allow , do not affirm the belief that their lives are insignificant.”

Tip #7: Ask rhetorical questions

Do you want to increase audience engagement? Ask rhetorical questions. When you ask a question, your audience is forced to think more deeply about your words. They’re more likely to listen more closely, as well, since the information that follows a question will provide more context. You can use rhetorical questions in a few ways. You can anticipate a question your audience might have, set up an important point, or even encourage an emotional response. Even though audience members won’t shout out an answer (unless you encourage them to do so), asking questions makes your speech feel more interactive and engaging.

Let’s look at a 2003 speech by Maxine Waters at the National Youth Summit. While it isn’t directly about women’s rights, it serves as a great example of how to use questions in a speech. Right from the beginning, it’s clear this speech is going to be interactive. She says good morning to the audience and then prompts them to answer her. Through the speech, Waters asks many questions (some rhetorical, some direct), all of which make the speech engaging even through a transcript:

“Who makes up this jury? [Waters is discussing a trial involving a White cop and a Black teenager that ended in a hung jury and mistrial] A lot of people were very, very concerned because there was only one black person on the jury. The city of Inglewood is majority minority, and majority African-American. How could this have happened? How could you get a jury with only one black, in a case where the defendants are African-American, in a city where it is majority minority and mostly black? How could this happen?”

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

How To Write A Speech On Women’s Day: Comprehensive Guide With Sample Speech

• Speech Writing

Celebrated for over a century now, Women’s Day has served as an active acknowledgment of the magnificent and fierce force of nature that women are. Observing it is one way of honoring all that they do and are. 

With gender parity becoming a progressively imperative area for our woke society, the Women’s day celebration has been commercialized and far-reaching. 

What that means is that people have started counting it as an event that can be used for raising charity for women-centric NGOs and other funds. That goes on to say that it attracts tonnes of people and involves a lot of public gatherings.

Whether it is a local community celebration, a small social gathering, or large press conferences and fundraisers, all these events have people who are eager to talk about a bunch of things revolving around women. 

While the spectrum for the topics you could talk about is very wide, this article will help you curate a speech that stands out and makes it a memorable one for the audience. 

What is the history of Women’s Day?

While it is not something you must necessarily include in your speech, it’s good to know the relevance and context of the occasion.

Marked every year on March 8th, the first ever Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911 and supported by over a million people. 

It came about as a long due response to the repressive tendencies of the society. An agitated reaction to the disparity in working conditions between men and women. Today, it calls for celebrating women in social, economic, political, and domestic spheres of life in personal and professional capacities. 

If you wish to know more about the history of Women’s Day in detail, here’s some timeline-based information you can find on the web: History of International Women’s Day

What can you talk about on Women’s Day?

Needless to say, the central topic you would need to focus on is women. However, the scope of things you could talk about related to women is far more extensive than you’d think. 

Historically, the gender dynamics in society have been known to be inherently skewed in one direction. The hegemonic patriarchal structure has alienated women to a subordinate position in personal and professional spaces.

Women till date, are treated like the ‘other’ or deviated from the norm that is male-centric. The injustices inflicted on women are agitating to even think about. 

So, you could choose to talk about the aforementioned injustices (because, believe me, there are many), or you could talk about the progress we have made so far in eradicating them. These are, however, the most common topics that are saturated on every Women’s Day.

You need your speech to stand out, and for that, you need to write something that adds new value instead of reiterating the same old ones.

The key to a good speech is to give the audience what they’re not getting to hear already.

That is not to say that we should stop talking about all that is wrong with gender dynamics, however, a good speech would bring to light the already existing conflicts in a new way. Here’s where you can get creative with your words. Read further to understand.

Having said that, International Women’s Day is not just about looking at the past. Apart from these things, you could also talk about the accomplishments women have made in praise of them. 

One REALLY relevant, unconventional, and new area you could focus on is body positivity and talking about gender identity. You could back up with statistics the number of women who struggle with body positivity, the numbers are alarming!

Besides, the LGBTQ+ community also has women or people who identify as women, this is a perfect opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate them.

There are so many strong women who defy the norm and rise through ranks. Women’s Day is also an occasion to celebrate women, more than anything.

Things to keep in mind while writing a Women’s Day speech

So, to give you a few practical examples, here’s a list of potential topics you could talk about:

1. Feminism in *name of your country* 

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” ― Cheris Kramarae

Feminism is a hot topic in the 21st century. It is almost always spoken about on Women’s Day. It’s one of the most influential movements that our society has come up with. 

However, like any other radical movement, it has as many critics as supporters. The cultural interrogation of feminism differs from country to country, since it’s perceived differently.

You could do extensive research about what it is like to be a feminist in your own country. Your speech could comprise YOUR personal, subjective experience, your struggles, your achievements, etc. 

Reference: For example, check out Malala Yousafzai’s speech on how Feminism is not complicated

2. Educate a woman, educate a generation

Women and education is another very sensitive area on a global level. There are still countries that restrict women’s access to education to this date, even after the third wave of Feminism. 

This is why it is important to bring it up consistently every time, to start conversations, to bring this grave issue to the forefront. 

In this speech, you could give some really upsetting statistics about the percentage of women deprived of one of the most fundamental rights, and move on to paint a picture of a society where women are less educated, and predict the consequences it would have. 

Reference: Here’s Angelina Jolie addressing the 25th AU Summit 2015, another great example you could check out!

3. Empower & unite: a vision

This is a rather umbrella topic. Women are empowered by change. Any real difference requires a real change.

Just talking about equality does not warrant it.

A speech here can be made about what groundwork must one do in practical day-to-day life to bring about the desired change.

A vision has to be formed of the society that women feel accepted and welcomed in, and then steps to move towards it can be enlightened. 

For example, education policies can be enacted, NGOs can be formed, you can also mention the progress already made in these areas.

Reference: Here’s yet another strong global female figure, Meghan Markle’s UN Women speech on “Speak up for your values “

Writing the Speech: Main Guide

Well then, with some prompts and examples to lay the groundwork, let’s move on to the actual process of writing the speech on Women’s Day.

There are a few things that you need to keep in mind, the following includes some tips along with a step-by-step procedure.

• Target a core message you want to convey and build your speech around it, or better yet, design your speech in such a way that leads UP TO this core message.
• Organize your speech. (read further in the steps)
• While writing the speech, think of yourself as an audience member, shifting perspective from speaker to listener helps you eliminate boring things sometimes.
• Build a rough skeleton of your speech, what point would segue into what. Arrange the order of the subtopics.  
• Decide the duration of your speech in advance, it helps you narrow down to key points and cut down unnecessary jargon. It also helps if you set a timer during your practice.
• Reiteration is fine, but don’t repeat your points too many times. It gets boring for people sometimes. 
• If talking about radical notions like feminism, try not to go too hardcore since these topics attract extreme opinions and reactions. You don’t want things to get too heated.
• Make sure you don’t just talk about the mainstream “issues” of women. It could make your speech generic and repetitive, and hence, less impactful. Try to cover a bunch of areas, some a little optimistic perhaps.

Well, with those in mind, let’s move on to a step-by-step guide!

You must’ve heard a thousand times that structure is the most essential tool when writing or giving a speech, and that’s because it is. Any great speech has a very apparent beginning, middle, and end. 

With that being said, let’s get to this specific topic. While talking on Women’s Day, it is a good idea to begin by appreciating and acknowledging women of all kinds, and all that they do, how our lives are so much better with them in it.

Remember, this day is about *celebrating* women.

After this, the direction you take your speech in differs according to your core message. For example, if you want to talk about gender neutrality, you can move on to the disparities that sadly still exist in our society.

You can also talk about the urgency to change the general mindset about the “othering” of women. You can mention how if you’re not actively trying to bring about change, you’re passively contributing to an unfortunate reality.  

Try using strong words like “unfortunate”, “contribution”, “challenge” that evoke the audience.

And finally, and most importantly, always end on a positive note. Not just anything though, mention the progress that’s been made by people towards bringing about the change. 

For example, you could mention the Let Girls Learn initiative by Michelle Obama aimed at providing education to adolescent girls. 

Ending on a positive note brings a sense of hope.

Another very important thing you need to keep in mind is that while the guide might help you with constructing a speech, the words are going to be yours.

And to make sure that your words hook the audiences’ attention, you need to have some really impressive opening lines, because that is when their attention span is at its peak!

To help with just that, we have written a whole article about speech openers, you can check them out here: 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Additionally, you need to make sure that the end of your speech packs and ties the whole essence together. Here are 15 Powerful Speech Ending Lines (And Tips to Create Your Own)

#PURPOSE & #TONE

The purpose of a speech could be delivering the core message we spoke about, or it could be getting your audience to act on something. It’s the REASON for giving that particular speech.

As yourself, do you want to alert your audience? or do you want to challenge them? Do you want to educate them? Or just provide insights? Answering these questions for yourself will help you find the purpose.

The tone of your speech goes hand in hand with the purpose. For example, if your purpose is to ignite a passion towards women’s empowerment, then your tone would be definitive, assertive, and strong. It would involve saying phrases like “We MUST”, “We HAVE to”, etc.

Meanwhile, if it’s to just deliver facts in a non-aggressive way, then your tone would be soft-spoken with pauses for people to ponder. It is very important to align your tone with the purpose. 

As mentioned in the tips, you must decide upon the duration of time you want to speak. As it is, our attention spans are progressively shrinking. Hence, it is important to convey what you wish to within the shortest time frame possible.

Compress your data. Include facts, but only sprinkle them throughout like pepper. Don’t go overloaded with statistics. People withdraw the fastest when they hear numbers too much. 

Your speech should be moving, and while numbers help, let your own words do the magic instead of relying too much on numbers. 

Ideally, a good speech about an occasion like Women’s Day goes on till about 3-5 minutes. Unless you want to dive into a specific topic and dig deep. Again, it depends on the audience you’re catering to.

A group of social activists wouldn’t mind an hour-long speech, even. But kids, or maybe community meetings tend to lose focus faster if they’re not motivated about the subject as strongly. 

#CREATIVITY

Creativity is a massive spectrum. There are hundreds of aids you could use to enhance your speech, even make it a performance if you may. 

But a few examples that I can think of are using visual aids, making a PPT with colorful graphs and flowcharts to depict statistics instead of saying them. 

Some people have a strong visual memory, so you’d be making a stronger impact on them by showing them instead of telling them. Not to mention color attracts and even retains attention.

Other than that, you could show a short film, or even an ad campaign in the beginning to set the base strong, or create the mood. 

For example, here’s a Reebok campaign ad that their brand did in 2018 for a women empowerment initiative. You could show it to your audience in the beginning to build a context. Additionally, some ads leave a long-lasting impact.

With these tools, you’re all set to begin curating your speech. Remember to make it personal, adding anecdotes from your life or people you know it’s what makes your speech real, and hence, stand out.

Sample Speech

Before I begin my speech, I want us all to do a little imaginative exercise today. Ready? I want you all to close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and picture what I’m saying. Imagine being in a really long, dark hallway. You can see a door in some distance but you have to squint your eyes. There is light outside the door. Normally, you’d want to reach out to that door and walk out happily into the light. Now imagine your hands being tied, restricting your movement. And the pathway leading to the door is peppered with shattered glass. And the ceiling is also made of glass where you can look at your reflection and see someone tired of trying. Meanwhile, a whole group of people pass by you, look at you, judge you, objectify you, and swiftly move towards the door because their pathway is smooth. Open your eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, what you just imagined is what we call being a woman. Welcome to our world. Women. The pillars of our society, the nurturers of our progeny, the threads weaving our communities together. Women. To say that they are the physical manifestation of strength itself would be a gross understatement. Today, women around us are excelling in all spheres that mankind has designed, making this world a better place to live in, little by little. Be it a homemaker, a professionally devoted one, or any other kind, our mothers, sisters, teachers, aunts, daughters, and friends are rays of inspiration to us.

I look around today and see these absolutely wonderful women who are extremely loved. But that’s not all I see. I also see victims. Victims of heinous crimes like rapes, abuse, torture. But the victimization isn’t limited to just punishable offenses, there are women I see who fall prey to silent killers of joy. Victims of emotional abuse, women stuck in long miserable marriages too afraid to break out of it for the sake of putting up with ridiculous notions of society that undermine them. Other than that, can you believe it is estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women and girls? Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people. The list of appalling facts and figures goes on… Gaps between men and women exist in areas from pay ranges to decision making to accessibility in health services and education. The UN has made a LIST on their websites that is full of these shocking gaps. It is sad how long you have to scroll to reach the end.

We are living in the 21st century. There is not a single shred of doubt in the fact that a woman can become and conquer anything that she desires. History tells us, however, that this has been a result of an unbearably long journey of revolts and movements against a society that was designed to put women down, to undermine them. Where the only criteria to determine their worth was how pretty they are or how well they cook and clean. Patriarchy is so deeply rooted in the fabric of so many countries that there are still people who continue to follow those notions about women. And for them, I have one word: Ignorant. Yes, they are ignorant to the grave consequences of perpetuating gender parity, ignorant to the fact that women are just as human as men, ignorant to all the possibilities a woman if given, can emerge gloriously from. Let me reiterate to you people today, WOMEN BELONG TO THE WORLD, NOT INSIDE KITCHENS. The rise of women does NOT equate to the fall of men. And anyone who thinks so has my deepest sympathies for the blind ignorance. 

I’m sure you’ve heard of Sudha Murty, one of the well-renowned authors of India and a philanthropist. But she is still sometimes referred to as “the wife” of the founder of the Infosys Foundation, even though she herself is the chairperson of the same company. Something to know about this extraordinary woman is that she is now 70 years old, which means she graduated high school in a time when it was norm to treat women as secondary beings. In an age like that, she dared to dream to become an engineer. Her family wasn’t supportive of it, because then nobody would marry her, of course. But she went ahead and pursued it anyway. It is to be noted that she was the only woman among 599 engineering students. She then went on to smash the stereotypes and bag a job in TELCO, one of India’s biggest automobile firms, which again, she got because she stood up for herself and the discrimination against women. By the way, the educational authorities during her time were so indifferent that they didn’t even build ladies bathrooms in the institution. This led to Sudha to bring a real change and build over 16,000 toilets after Infosys happened. Today, she is looked upto for the courage she had to raise her voice and be the first woman for so many things, it is revolutionary to witness it. T he cloud isn’t entirely dark .Today, industries and organizations are taking active steps towards eradicating the orthodox mentality. There are women crushing and dominating the glass ceiling in all professional fields. Global organizations such as the UN are working towards women empowerment on a large scale, Feminism is in its third wave on an international scale. We are certainly moving towards a future where it’s not about men and women, it’s about being HUMANS, and that, considering everything, is a win.  To conclude with the remarkable words of Megan Markle, a wonderful representation of strong globally impactful women and the UN women’s advocate for political participation and leadership, “It isn’t enough to simply talk about equality, one must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to simply believe in it, one must work at it. let us work at it. Together, starting now”

Happy Women’s Day!

Every year, you may find people adopting a theme for advertisement campaigns or public speeches in order to focus on a particular area that women need to be celebrated in. It can serve as the necessary prompt for you to curate your speech.

Other than that, we hope this guide helped you coming up with a great speech on International Women’s day!

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• Feminist persuasive speech topics

108 feminist persuasive speech topics

- the top current women's rights & feminist issues.

By:  Susan Dugdale   | Last modified: 07-20-2022

There are 108 persuasive speech topics here covering many current feminist issues. For example:

• that copy-cat fast fashion reinforces the relentless consumer cycle and the poverty trap,
• that the advertising industry deliberately manufactures and supports body image insecurities to serve its own ends,
• that gendered language reinforces the patriarchal structure of society...

They're provocative and challenging topics raising issues that I like to think should be of concern to us all! 

Use the quick links to find a topic you want to explore

• 25 feminist persuasive speech topics about beauty and fashion
• 16 the media and feminism topics
• 8 the role of language and feminism speech ideas

8 feminist speech ideas about culture and arts

9 topics on education and gendered expectations, 27 feminist topics about society & social inequality, 8 business & work related feminist speech topics.

• Resources for preparing persuasive speeches
• References for feminism

What is 'feminism'?

Feminism is defined as belief in and advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes, expressed especially through organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.

(See: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism )

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25 feminist speech topics about beauty & fashion

• that from puberty onward a woman is targeted by cosmetic companies
• that the shape of woman’s body is valued over its health
• that physical beauty in a woman is conferred by popular beliefs
• that striving for what is regarded as the epitome of female physical perfection destroys women
• that physical perfection is a myth
• that compassion and collaboration is needed between women (and men) rather than competition and comparison
• that beauty, fashion and feminism can co-exist
• that clothing reflects social position or class
• that the fashionable clothing of any era reflects its dominate cultural beliefs
• that a modern feminist does not need to ban either the bra or the razor
•  that prescriptive beauty norms (PBNs) reinforce sexism, racism, colorism, classism, ableism, ageism, and gender norms
• that western feminine beauty standards dominate globally
• that there is no legitimate historical or biological justification for the ‘white’ beauty myth
• that modern beauty standards were used as “political weapons" against women’s advancement (see Naomi Wolfe - The Beauty Myth )
• that the beauty industry cynically and callously exploits women through “self-empowerment” campaigns – eg L'Oreal's  “Because you're worth it”
• that beauty shaming of any sort is shameful
• that health and beauty need to work together for the empowerment of women
• that beauty and fashion role models need to be independent of major brands
• that fashion and cosmetic industries have a moral responsibility to use the immense power they have in shaping people’s lives for their betterment
• that the unfair balance of power between the consumers of fashionable clothing and those who make it is a feminist issue
• that copy-cat fast fashion reinforces the relentless consumer cycle and the poverty trap
• that genuinely sustainable fashion is only responsible way forward
• that clothing/fashion can make a feminist statement. For example: the 1850s “freedom” or “bloomer” dress named after women’s rights and temperance advocate Amelia Bloomer , the wearing of trousers, shorts, or mini skirts by women, or skirts and dresses by men
• that boss dressing for women is unnecessary and toxic
• that establishing superiority through wearing elitist fashion is an age old ploy

16 the media and feminism speech topics

• that feminism in mainstream media is often misrepresented through lack of understanding
• that some media deliberately encourages a narrow polarizing definition of feminism to whip up interest and drama for its own sake
• that mainstream media plays a significant role in keeping women marginalized
• that social media has created an independent level playing field for feminists globally
• that the #metoo movement reaffirmed the need for community and solidarity amongst feminists
• that the advertising industry deliberately manufactures and supports ongoing body image insecurities to serve its own ends
• that the advertising industry decides and deifies what physical perfection looks like
• that the ideal cover girl body/face is a myth
• that eating disorders and negative body image problems are increased by the unrealistic beauty standards set by mainstream media
• that women get media coverage for doing newsworthy things and being beautiful. Men get media coverage for doing newsworthy things.
• that social media gives traditionally private issues a platform for discussion and change: abortion, domestic abuse, pay equity
• that print media (broadsheets, magazines, newspapers...) have played and continue to play a vital role in feminist education
• that ‘the women’s hour’ and similar radio programs or podcasts have been and are an important part in highlighting feminist issues
• that ‘feminist wokeness’ has been hijacked by popular media
• that social media reinforces prejudices rather than challenges them because the smart use of analytics means we mainly see posts aligned with our viewpoints
• that social media has enabled and ‘normalized’ the spread of pornography: the use of bodies as a commodity to be traded

8 the role language and feminism speech ideas

• that frequently repeated platitudes (eg. girls will be girls and boys will be boys) are stereotypical straitjackets stifling change
• that the derogatory words for females and female genitalia frequently used to vent anger or frustration demonstrate the worth and value placed on women
• that feminism is neither male nor female
• that gendered language reinforces the patriarchal structure of society
• that sexist language needs to be called out and changed
• that gendered language limits women’s opportunities
• that gendered languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi...) need to become more inclusive
• that the real enemy of feminism is language
• that limitations in any arena (work, sports, arts) placed on woman because they are women need challenging
• that male bias in the organizations awarding major awards and grants needs to change
• that the ideal woman in art is a figment of a male imagination
• that historically art has objectified women
• that heroic figures should be celebrated and honored for their deeds – not for what they look like or their gender
• that strong feisty female characters in literature can inspire change eg. Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte’s novel of the same name, and Offred from Margaret Atwood’s The Hand Maiden’s Tale.
• that the role of feminist art in any field: literature, film, theatre, dance, sculpture..., is to transform and challenge stereotypes. Examples of feminist artists: Judy Chicago, Miriam Shapiro, Barbara Kruger (More: feminist art ) 
• that feminist musicians have used their influence as agents of change, and to inspire: Beyonce, Queen Latifah, Pussy Riot, Lorde, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Nina Simone
• that there no subjects more suitable for boys than girls, or subjects more suitable for girls than boys
• that toys, clothing, and colors should be gender neutral
• that student achievement and behavioral expectations should be gender free
• that feminism should be actively modelled in the classroom
• that eligibility for educational institutions should be merit based  
• that boys should not ‘punished’ or blamed for our patriarchal history
• that gendered performance is actively supported and encouraged by some educational philosophies and schools in order to maintain the status quo
• that the belief that ‘male’ and ‘female’ intelligence are different and that male intelligence is superior is false
• that education is vital for the advancement of black feminism
• that rigidly adhered to gendered workplace and domestic roles sustain and support inequalities
• that domestic violence is typically a male gendered crime
• that patriarchal attitudes toward women make sexual harassment and rape inevitable
• that a safe legal abortion is a fundamental right for every person who wants one
• that humiliation and control either by fear and threat of rape, or rape itself, is an act toxic entitlement
• that a person is never ever ‘asking for it’: to be sexually harassed, or to be raped
• that safe methods of birth control should be freely available to whomever wants them
• that full sexual and reproductive health and rights for all people is an essential precondition to achieving gender equality
• that men should not have control over woman's sexual and reproductive decision-making
• that the increase in sperm donation is a feminist victory
• that a person can be a domestic goddess and a feminist
• that there is a positive difference between assertive and aggressive feminism
• that the shock tactics of feminist anarchists is justified
• that powerful feminist role models open the way for others to follow
• that intersectional feminism is essential to fully understand the deep ingrained inequalities of those experiencing overlapping forms of oppression
• that a feminist’s belief and practices are shaped by the country they live in, its dominant religious and cultural practices
• that female circumcision is an example of women’s oppression disguised as a cultural tradition
• that honor crimes are never justifiable
• that period poverty and stigma is a global feminist issue
• that we need to accept that some women want to remain protected by patriarchal practices and beliefs
• that environmental issues are feminist issues
• that everybody benefits from feminism
• that feminism works towards equality, not female superiority
• that anti-feminist myths (that feminists are angry women who blame men for their problems, that feminists are anti marriage, that feminists have no sense of humor, that feminists are not ‘natural’ mothers, that feminists are anti religion, that feminists are actually all lesbians ...) are desperate attempts to maintain the patriarchal status quo
• that toxic femininity is a by-product of fear and insecurity eg. The need to ridicule another woman in order to impress a man, shaming a man for not being ‘manly’, raging against a women for being seen to be powerful, competent and successful in a leadership position ...
• that blaming the patriarchy is far too simple
• that one can hold religious beliefs and be feminist
• that gendered jobs and job titles belong in the past
• that pay scales should be based on merit, not gender
• that adequate maternity and child care plus parental leave provisions should be mandatory
• that flexible working hours benefits both the business and its employees
• that token feminism is not enough
• that corporate feminism is for wealthy white women
• that feminism and capitalism are in conflict
• that women in power owe it to other women to work for their empowerment

Useful resources

The first three resources below provide an excellent starting point to get a broad overview of feminism: its history, development and current issues.

I've included the fourth link because I'm a New Zealander, and proud of what its women's suffrage movement achieved: the vote for women in 1893.  

• What’s the definition of feminism? 12 TED talks that explain it to you
• An overview of feminist philosophy – Stanford University, USA
• Britannica: an excellent over of the history and development of feminism
• The symbolism of a white camellia and the Suffrage Movement in New Zealand

How to choose a good persuasive speech topic and preparing a great speech

For a more in-depth discussion about choosing a good persuasive topic, and crafting a persuasive speech please see:

• persuasive speech ideas and read all the notes under the heading “What make a speech topic good?"
• writing a persuasive speech . You’ll find notes covering:
• setting a speech goal,
• audience analysis,
• evidence and empathy (the need for proof or evidence to back what you’re saying as well as showing you understand, or empathize with, the positions of those for and against your proposal),
• balance and obstacles (to address points against your proposal, the obstacles, in a fair and balanced way),
• varying structural patterns (ways to organize you material) and more. And click this link for hundreds more persuasive speech topic suggestions . ☺

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Read Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ‘Women’s Rights’ Speech From 1995

“Now it is time to act on behalf of women everywhere.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the following address to the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing, 25 years ago. Then the first lady of the United States, Clinton famously declared that “women’s rights are human rights,” while criticizing the Chinese government’s coercive family-planning policy and the hardships faced by women around the world. You can read her reflections about this speech upon its 25th anniversary here .

Below, the full text of Clinton’s speech as delivered.

Thank you very much, Gertrude Mongella, for your dedicated work that has brought us to this point. Distinguished delegates and guests, I would like to thank the secretary-general for inviting me to be part of this important United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. This is truly a celebration—a celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life: in the home, on the job, in the community, as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, learners, workers, citizens, and leaders.

It is also a coming together, much the way women come together every day in every country.

We come together in fields and factories. In village markets and supermarkets. In living rooms and boardrooms. Whether it is while playing with our children in the park or washing clothes in a river or taking a break at the office watercooler, we come together and talk about our aspirations and concerns. And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our families.

However different we may appear, there is far more that unites us than divides us. We share a common future. And we are here to find common ground so that we may help bring new dignity and respect to women and girls all over the world—and in so doing, bring new strength and stability to families as well.

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 participate fully in the political life of our countries.

There are some who question the reason for this conference. Let them listen to the voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.

Hillary Clinton: How far have women come?

There are some who wonder whether the lives of women and girls matter to economic and political progress around the globe. Let them look at the women gathered here and at Huairou, the homemakers and nurses, the teachers and lawyers, the policy makers and women who run their own businesses.

It is conferences like this that compel governments and peoples everywhere to listen, look, and face the world’s most pressing problems.

Wasn’t it, after all, after the women’s conference in Nairobi 10 years ago that the world focused for the first time on the crisis of domestic violence?

Earlier today, I participated in a World Health Organization forum. In that forum, we talked about ways that government officials, NGOs, and individual citizens are working to address the health problems of women and girls.

Tomorrow, I will attend a gathering of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. There, the discussion will focus on local and highly successful programs that give hardworking women access to credit so they can improve their own lives and the lives of their families.

What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on our planet does have a stake in the discussion that takes place here.

Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children, and families. Over the past two and a half years, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my own country and around the world.

I have met new mothers in Indonesia who come together regularly in their village to discuss nutrition, family planning, and baby care.

I have met working parents in Denmark who talk about the comfort they feel in knowing that their children can be cared for in safe and nurturing after-school centers.

I have met women in South Africa who helped lead the struggle to end apartheid and are now helping to build a new democracy.

I have met with the leading women of my own hemisphere who are working every day to promote literacy and better health care for children in their countries.

I have met women in India and Bangladesh who are taking out small loans to buy milk cows, or rickshaws, or thread in order to create a livelihood for themselves and their families.

I have met the doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukraine who are trying to keep children alive in the aftermath of Chernobyl.

The great challenge of this conference is to give voice to women everywhere whose experiences go unnoticed, whose words go unheard.

Women comprise more than half the world’s population, 70 percent of the world’s poor, and two-thirds of those who are not taught to read and write. We are the primary caretakers for most of the world’s children and elderly. Yet much of the work we do is not valued—not by economists, not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders.

At this very moment, as we sit here, women around the world are giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes, cleaning houses, planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running countries.

Women also are dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated; they are watching their children succumb to malnutrition caused by poverty and economic deprivation; they are being denied the right to go to school by their own fathers and brothers; they are being forced into prostitution; and they are being barred from the bank-lending offices and banned from the ballot box.

Those of us who have the opportunity to be here have the responsibility to speak for those who could not. As an American, I want to speak for 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.

I want to speak up for mothers who are fighting for good schools, safe neighborhoods, clean air, and clean airwaves; for older women, some of them widows, who find that after raising their families, their skills and life experiences are not valued in the marketplace; for women who are working all night as nurses, hotel clerks, or fast-food chefs so that they can be at home during the day with their children; and for women everywhere who simply don’t have time to do everything they are called upon to do each and every day.

Speaking to you today, I speak for them, just as each of us speaks for women around the world who are denied the chance to go to school, or see a doctor, or own property, or have a say about the direction of their lives, simply because they are women. The truth is that most women around the world work both inside and outside the home, usually by necessity.

We need to understand there is no one formula for how women should lead our lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her own God-given potential.

We also must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected.

Our goals for this conference—to strengthen families and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies—cannot be fully achieved unless all governments, here and around the world, accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights.

The international community has long acknowledged—and recently reaffirmed at Vienna—that both women and men are entitled to a range of protections and personal freedoms, from the right of personal security to the right to determine freely the number and spacing of the children they bear.

No one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse, or torture. Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now, in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict. Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees. And when women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse.

I believe that, now on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break the silence. 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.

These abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words.

But the voices of this conference and of the women at Huairou must be heard loudly and clearly:

It is a 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 women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed, and the kinds of reasons that are used to justify this practice should no longer be tolerated.

It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire, and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small.

It is a violation of human rights 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.

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 their own relatives.

It is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation.

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.

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.

And among those rights are the right to speak freely and the right to be heard. Women must enjoy the right 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 wished to participate in this conference have not been able to attend or have been prohibited from fully taking part.

Let me be clear: Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly. It means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of their governments. It means not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them, mistreating them, or denying them their freedom or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas and opinions.

In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of women’s suffrage. It took 150 years after the signing of our 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 shot being fired.

But we have also been reminded, in V-J Day observances last weekend, of the good that comes when men and women join together to combat the forces of tyranny and to build a better world. We have seen peace prevail in most places for a half century. We have avoided another world war. But we have not solved older, deeply rooted problems that continue to diminish the potential of half the world’s population.

Now it is time to act on behalf of women everywhere.

If we take bold steps to better the lives of women, we will be taking bold steps to better the lives of children and families too. Families rely on mothers and wives for emotional support and care; families rely on women for labor in the home; and increasingly everywhere, families rely on women for income needed to raise healthy children and care for other relatives.

As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace everywhere in the world, as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled, subjected to violence in and out of their homes, the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized.

Let this conference be our—and the world’s—call to action.

Let us heed that call so that we can create a world in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future.

That is the work before you; that is the work before all of us who have a vision of the world we want to see for our children and our grandchildren. The time is now. We must move beyond rhetoric; we must move beyond recognition of problems to working together to have the common efforts to build that common ground we hope to see.

God’s blessings on you, your work, and all who will benefit from it. Godspeed and thank you very much.

5 Powerful speeches by women in the 21st century

This women's equality day, join us in celebrating some of the most powerful speeches by women..

We may only be two decades in, but the 21st century has seen monumental shifts regarding gender equality. Movements such as #metoo, global fights for abortion rights, and the Saudi Arabian women's driving ban are a few that have highlighted the issue.

When you think of great speeches in history, images of Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and Barack Obama may spring forth. Due to ingrained biases, women have always needed to 'speak louder to have their voices heard'. Women's Equality Day, often referred to as Gender Equality Day, commemorates when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the proclamation granting American women the right to vote . On this Women's Equality Day (26th August 2021), we celebrate powerful speeches by women on the world stage fighting for equal rights. 

Oprah Winfrey

While receiving an award for 'Outstanding Contributions to the World of Entertainment' at the 2018 Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey gave one of the most moving speeches by a woman at the awards. 

As someone born into poverty to a single mother who overcame discrimination with race and gender to succeed, she gave a rousing speech addressing the evolution of women's equality. Even more fitting, she was the first black woman to have received that award.

Key points of interest

[00:05:20] 

'In 1944, Recy Taylor was a young wife and a mother. She was just walking home from a church service she attended in Abbeville, Alabama, when she was abducted by six armed white men raped and left blindfolded by the side of the road coming home from church. They threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone. But her story was reported to the NAACP, where a young worker by the name of Rosa Parks became the lead investigator on her case'

[00:08:21] 

'So I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon. And when that new day finally dawns. It will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say me too again.'

Read the entire transcript here .

Frances McDormand

Upon receiving her 2nd Oscar in 2018, Frances McDormand's speech received a standing ovation after highlighting the integral role women have in Hollywood - both in front of and behind the camera. 

The 'mic drop' moment was the mention of the ' inclusion rider .' An inclusion rider is a clause actors and filmmakers can insert into their contracts to ensure an appropriate level of diversity in a cast, from women to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities.

Key points of interest: 

[00:03:16] 

'And now I want to get some perspective. If I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight. [...] OK, look around, everybody, look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed'

[00:04:15] 

'I have two words to leave with you tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, Inclusion Rider.'

Read the whole speech here .

Emma Watson

From actress to activist, Emma Watson is an outspoken supporter of gender equality. In a passionate women's rights speech at the UN in 2014, she declared gender equality an issue for both males and females to advocate. She asserted that 'feminism' has almost become a dirty word and that it is down to the inadvertent feminists to strengthen the movement. 

She also talked about gender equality from a male perspective, highlighting mental health and gender stereotypes, demonstrating that men do not have gender equality either. 

Key points of interest:

[00:01:51] 

'The more I've spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain. It is that this has to stop. For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.'

[00:04:05] 

'I am from Britain. And I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and the decisions that will affect my life. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality.'

[00:08:35] 

'If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive. If men don't have to control, women won't have to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive, both men and women should feel free to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.'

The entire transcript can be found here .

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is one of the leading women's rights activists globally and the youngest person (and first Pakistani) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. In her acceptance speech, she delivered a heartfelt message advocating a women's right to education. She sheds light on women's rights from a unique cultural point of view.

[00:03:39] 

'I have found that people describe me in many different ways. Some people call me the girl who was shot by the Taliban and some the girl who fought for her rights. [...] As far as I know, I'm just a committed and even stubborn person who wants to see every child getting quality education. Who wants to see women having equal rights and who wants peace in every corner of the world.'

Read the transcript in Trint .

Greta Thunberg

The youngest on our list, Greta Thunberg, is a name synonymous with activism. This is more of an honorable mention as her speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 focused on climate change rather than gender equality. However, even at the age of 16, and speaking in her non-native tongue, Thunburg faced gender-based bias following the speech. There was online backlash due to her emotional tone and age, proving that women's rights have a long way to go before equality is reached. 

Key point of interest:

[00:00:54] 

'You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of his time of economic growth. How dare you?'

The speech transcript is here for you to read .

What's next for women's equality?

Thanks to these speeches by women, the topic of gender equality remains at the forefront of the public's mind. Having said that, there is still some way to go in the case of equal pay and gender stereotypes and other global issues. However, these speeches have given women a platform in which to make their voices heard. 

Trint is an employer committed to equality for both genders with a number of initiatives like our Women in Tech and Diversity and Inclusion groups. We are committed to providing equal opportunities to our employees. 

We used Trint to transcribe the MP4 files of these speeches, try it out for yourself .

Your free trial awaits, learn more about trint for enterprise.

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138 Women’s Rights Research Questions and Essay Topics

🏆 best topics related to women’s rights, ⭐ simple & easy essay topics on women’s issues, 📌 most interesting research topics on women’s issues, 👍 good women’s rights research paper topics, ❓ research questions about women’s rights.

Women’s rights essays are an excellent way to learn about the situation of the female gender throughout the world and demonstrate your knowledge.

You can cover historical women’s rights essay topics, such as the evolution of girl child education in various countries and regions or the different waves of the feminism movement.

Alternatively, you can study more current topics, such as the status of women in Islam or the debate about whether women’s rights apply to transgender women.

In either case, there is a multitude of ideas that you can express and discuss in your paper to make it engaging and thought-provoking. However, you should not neglect the basic aspects of writing an essay, especially its structure and presentation.

The thesis statement is critical to your essay’s structure, as it has to be at the center of each point you make. It should state the overall message or question of your paper comprehensively but concisely at the same time.

Afterwards, every point you make should directly or indirectly support the claim or answer the question, and you should make the relationship explicit for better clarity.

It is good practice to make the thesis a single sentence that does not rely on context, being fully self-sufficient, but avoids being excessively long.

As such, writing a good thesis is a challenging task that requires care and practice. Do not be afraid to spend additional time writing the statement and refining it.

It is beneficial to have a framework of how you will arrange topics and formulate your points so that they flow into one another and support the central thesis before you begin writing.

The practice will help you arrange transitional words and make the essay more coherent and connected as opposed to being an assortment of loosely associated statements.

To that end, you should write an outline, which deserves a separate discussion. However, the basics are simple: write down all of the ideas you want to discuss, discard the worst or fold them into other, broader topics until you have a handful left, and organize those in a logical progression.

Here are some additional tips for your structuring process:

• Frame the ideas in your outline using self-explanatory and concise women’s rights essay titles. You can then use them to separate different points in your essay with titles that correspond to outline elements. The outline itself will effectively become a table of contents, saving you time if one is necessary.
• Try to keep the discussion of each topic self-contained, without much reference to other matters you discussed in the essay. If there is a significant relationship, you should devote a separate section to it.
• Do not forget to include an introduction and a conclusion in your paper. The introduction familiarizes the reader with the topic and ends with your thesis statement, setting the tone and direction of the essay. The conclusion sums up what you have written and adds some concluding remarks to finish. The introduction should not contain facts and examples beyond what is common knowledge in the field. The conclusion may not introduce new information beyond what has been stated in the essay.

You can find excellent women’s rights essay examples, useful samples, and more helpful tips on writing your essay at IvyPanda, so visit whenever you are having trouble or would like advice!

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• What Is the History of Women’s Rights?
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• How Margaret Fuller and Fanny Fern Used Writing as a Weapon for Women’s Rights?
• How Did Race Impact African American Women’s Experiences During the Women’s Suffrage Movement?
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• Who Was the Biggest Women’s Rights Activist?
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• Women Empowerment Speech

Women Empowerment Speech in English for Students

Women have been the ones who are doing so much work behind the scenes and are never credited for it. Our grandmothers, mothers and sisters play such an important and integral role in our lives and sadly they are reduced to just that and no one even values or appreciates them. Valuing them by empowering and paying heed to their voices is very important. And this can be done by putting them in positions of power where they get to make decisions. Only then will we see real change and there will be growth. In this article on women empowerment speech, we will delve into its meaning and importance. And different ways to deliver a women empowerment speech in English. It can be a long or a short speech on women's empowerment.

Long Speech on Women Empowerment  

This form of speech is helpful to understand the complexity of such a topic in detail with simple words especially, for students in grades 8-12 who can use this information for a 5-minute speech. 

Good Morning everyone, respected Principal, teachers and my dear friends, I am Xyz (mention your name) here today to speak about women empowerment. As we all know women are about half the popupation in the world. Even with such an acute understanding and knowledge, the sad reality prevails. In society and the world in which we live, women are often not given any part or role to play the decision-maker role in many professions. 

How do we expect the world to grow when the decision-makers in our patriarchal society are only men? And they are making decisions on behalf of women without even comprehending or even beginning to understand the struggles in a woman’s life.

Empowerment is a very wide term and to each his own. The general idea of empowerment however is to include others who are often neglected in the decision-making process. In this case, inclusion and acceptance of women in such roles is empowerment. We cannot all succeed if half of us are held back, can we?

Earlier the role of women in society as decided by men was to run a household, getting married at a young age and the problems like dowry and tolerating many forms of abuses in married life was a given. Now, in India, women are stepping outside homes to work and earn a living to support themselves and their families, unlike in ancient times. So even the rules and way of functioning in modern times must shift. 

Of course, this shift will not be overnight, any change is slow and gradual. The first step must be to acknowledge their contribution to the economic sphere and create more opportunities for them. Be it in any sector like corporate, IT, Edutech, culinary, law, banking, creative and performing arts. 

When opportunities are created for women in terms of education and profession in their field of interests without any restrictions or limitations, it is empowering. This gives all the girls and women the power to choose and decide what uplifts their status in society. It is high time that the limitations of gender roles are challenged and norms are broken.

Empowerment can be done in various ways, social empowerment is when women are represented as evolved and worthy beings in the media instead of in a regressive way. Economical empowerment comes about when they are treated as contributors in the same way as men are and paid accordingly without any discrimination.

The most crucial form being educational empowerment because education is truly a leveler and it brings all on equal footing. When one is educated it should not matter whether they are men or women as long as they get the jobs done. And that is why education should not be denied to girls which is still an unfortunate truth in many parts of India.

It is these educated girls who become women with self-confidence, intellect and conscience who excel in every field and can also become heads of the department and be decision-makers. Education is a great tool to empower women as it will bridge all other gaps in our society and we as a nation will prosper.  

Speech on Women Empowerment 

This form of a short speech on women empowerment in English can be useful for students in grades 4-7.

Good Morning to everyone present, I am Abc (mention your name) here to speak on a topical topic that is women empowerment. Discussions about women empowerment have been at the forefront in all spheres for the last few years. And this has been a concern because it has been ages that women have been living in this male-dominated patriarchal society. But now the struggles and problems are being vocalized. These points are further highlighted when women in a relatively better position than others are also echoing the same.

The struggles women face right from being a child is unimaginable. Little girls are denied education while their brothers don’t encounter such denial. The reason for this seems futile as their family presumes the role of women is in the kitchen and she should only take care of household works. And the lack of education is a huge hindrance that is curbing the growth of women in society. 

In towns and urban areas, girls get an education and secure good positions but even then they are treated unequally or inferior to their male counterparts. Women are paid far less than they deserve in comparison to their male colleagues for the same work just because of their gender.

To actually empower women, this discrimination should be put to an end. And gender roles as to what jobs should be done by whom should be an individual’s choice and not the society’s. The pressure and limitations put by society on women are appalling, to say the least. 

So let’s break free from these defined and limiting gender roles and start to live equal lives at home, so the next generation knows everyone is equal. Because it is tiring to hear that equality is still a dream in India, it is upon us to make it a reality.

10 Line Women Empowerment Speech 

This is to explain in very simple and understandable sentences that will be helpful for the students in grades 1-3.

Women empowerment is the need of the hour because it is high time we value and credit the women for their contribution and help them grow.

Women empowerment can be referred to as equality or free from discrimination.

There should not be a set notion that girls cannot play a certain sport like basketball because it’s a man’s game which is very regressive and wrong.

There are so many women who are reduced to just being fit to work in the kitchen and not outside homes.

These gender-defined roles are so narrow-minded and do not comply with modern times, where women are actually doing equally and better than men.

The pay gap because of gender is also problematic and in no way empowering anyone especially the women of the society.

We have to be broad-minded and accept women as our equals and not someone subversive.

If anything women are selfless by heart and wiser in nature and stronger because of the experiences they have.

When women are treated with respect and equality and paid deservedly they lift up economies.

Giving an education is the right start, it will make them independent and self-sufficient and an opinion to voice about their world views which are empowering. 

Examples of Great Speeches on Women Empowerment in History

History is filled with incredible speeches by women on women empowerment. Below are a few select speeches that helped in advancing the cause of women empowerment. These speeches can be loosely referred to when you write your own speeches for the English class. You can also learn about writing in English by clicking here . Below are three incredible speeches by women about women empowerment:

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own"

This speech has gone down in history as one of the greatest speeches about equal rights for women. Made in 1928, Woolf argues in this speech that women cannot achieve social and creative liberation until they are allowed equal access to education and financial independence. Woolf herself grew up without a formal education because her father did not believe in the need to educate women, however, she rebelled against his ideas and became one of the greatest writers of all time.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur on Child Marriage

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born to Raja Harnam Singh in 1889 as the only girl of seven children. She was one of the leading members of the Civil Disobedience Movement in the Indian Freedom Struggle. Even before dedicating her life to achieving Indian independence, she was active in the social movement for the abolition of child marriages and the Purdah (or Pardah) System. She argued that the two systems were the biggest obstacles against women's education and fiercely fought for the abolition of the two.

Julia Gillard "The Misogyny Speech"

In 2012, the then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard openly shamed one of her political opponents for his misogynistic attacks against her. The speech that became known as The Misogyny Speech talked about the struggles women face in the workplace and the on-going fight against discrimination.

FAQs on Women Empowerment Speech

1. What is women empowerment?

Women Empowerment refers to the process of liberating women and providing them with the same rights that men have traditionally enjoyed. On a societal level, the aims of women empowerment include equal wages across genders, stricter punishments for crimes against women, and equal rights to education, work, healthcare, and shelter for women. While there are more aims, the ones mentioned above are generally considered the most important. Women empowerment has a history that spans more than a century and it is still an ongoing process.

2. How to write a good speech about women empowerment?

To write a good speech about women empowerment, you can begin by writing down a list of topics that you want to cover in your speech. This will help you organize your speech better and ensure that you have enough material to talk about. Next, when you are writing your speech, keep in mind that the main aim of a speech is to keep the audience engaged. Split your speech into an introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction and conclusion, keep it brief and explain what you are talking about in simple, concise terms. For the body of the speech, write one, simple chapter per topic. Explain what the topic is, how it relates to women empowerment, and what should be done to empower women. For example, if you're talking about equal wages for women, explain the history of women being paid less for the same jobs and then talk about how it benefits society to pay women equally.

3. Why is women empowerment important?

For many centuries, society has strictly divided certain roles into categories for men and women. For example, men have traditionally worked and earned money while women have traditionally taken care of the house and raised children. Over the years, the roles of men and their importance has steadily increased while the importance of women has decreased. This led to women being mistreated, considered inferior, and denied basic human rights. Women empowerment seeks to allow women the same rights as men and raise their status in society. It is an important movement because it seeks to abolish the gender inequality that is seen in many parts of society.

4. How do speeches help in advancing women empowerment and rights?

Speeches have long held an important role in civil rights movements. This has been seen in movements across the world such as movements for racial equality as well as in Indian movements like the movement for caste equality. Speeches have often been the rallying point for revolutionaries and many movements were successful largely because of successful speeches. For example, in the US, Martin Luther King Jr. made an impactful speech about equal rights for racial minorities. His speech eventually led to the end of segregation between the white and black communities in the US. In India, the speeches on equality by B.R. Ambedkar formed the basis of the Constitution of India. Similarly, great speeches on women empowerment could be the turning point in the fight for equality.

5. Where can I find more resources to learn about women empowerment and writing speeches?

You can look through the Vedantu website and app for more information about women empowerment or how to write speeches. This page contains examples of speeches about women empowerment. The speeches mentioned here include long speeches, short speeches, as well as a ten-sentence outline for a speech. You can refer to these notes when writing your own speeches. However, if you need more resources to learn how to write speeches, you can look up the basic structure of a speech by clicking here .

10 Famous Speeches To Ignite The Feminist Fire Within You

Be inspired by the words of these powerful women

Throughout history, so many of the people to make us stop and take note with their famous speeches have been women. From the women's suffrage movement in the 1800s and feminism's second wave in the 1970s to the global Women's March in 2017, the words and actions of famous figures such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Virginia Woolf, Maya Angelou and Gloria Steinhem (to name just a few) have transformed society.

It might explain then why the theme of International Women's Day 2021 was #ChooseToChallenge. We can learn so much from the powerful actions and inspiring words of the women who came before us – but, also, there's still so much work we have to do. It's our duty to carry on their work, challenging and changing and speaking up for equality .

And so here, we've rounded up the most famous speeches from a new era of women, who are continuing the task of transforming opinions, breaking boundaries and inspiring us all to keep choosing to challenge. Listen, learn and take note.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Will Not Accept Your Apology

After Florida Representative Ted Yoho reportedly called Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'a f*cking b*tch' on the steps of the Capitol in July 2020, he tried to excuse his behaviour by saying he has a wife and daughters. In response, AOC (as she's commonly referred to) took to the House floor with what has since been hailed 'the most important feminist speech of a generation' – fluently and passionately detailing why his 'apology' was, simply, not good enough.

Quotes of note:

'I am someone's daughter too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho's disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television, and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.

'What I believe is that having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man, and when a decent man messes up, as we all are bound to do, he tries his best and does apologise.'

Natalie Portman On Dismantling The Patriarchy

From her smart quip of 'here are all the male nominees' at the 2018 Golden Globes , calling out the women directors snubbed for the category, to her rousing 'f*ck up and thrive, sisters' speech at the ELLE Women In Hollywood event in 2019, Portman consistently calls out inequality in the film industry. And the actor's address at Variety's Women of Power event in 2019 was no different. In what is now referred to as 'Natalie Portman's Step-by-Step Guide to Toppling the Patriarchy', she made a strong case for all the ways in which we, as individuals, can make a difference.

'Be embarrassed if everyone in your workplace looks like you. Pay attention to physical ability, age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and make sure you've got all kinds of experiences represented.

'Stop the rhetoric that a woman is crazy or difficult. If a man says a woman is crazy or difficult, ask him: What bad thing did you do to her? It's code that he is trying to discredit her reputation. Make efforts to hire people who've had their reputations smeared in retaliation.'

Michelle Obama On The Inequality Of Failure

Let's be honest: there are so many Michelle Obama speeches to choose from – the former FLOTUS is renowned for her passion for equality and her ability to uplift others with her words. But in a poignant keynote conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross at the United State of Women Summit in 2018, Obama spoke openly about the often-overlooked inequality of failure, and the disparities in repercussions for men and women.

Quote of note:

'I wish that girls could fail as bad as men do and be OK. Because let me tell you, watching men fail up, it is frustrating. It's frustrating to see a lot of men blow it and win. And we hold ourselves to these crazy, crazy standards.

'Start with what you can control. You start there. Because thinking about changing your workplace and changing the way the world thinks – that's big; that's daunting. And then you shrink from that. So start with what you can control. And that's you, first. And those questions start within. First, we must ask ourselves, "Are we using our voices? And when are we not? When are we playing it safe?" And at least be cognisant of that and understand, "These are the times that I shrunk away from doing more than I could, and let me think about why that was."'

Gina Martin On Misogyny, The Power Of Anger And How She Changed The Law

As she tells us in this refreshing TEDx talk from 2020, Gina Martin is not the kind of woman you'd expect to change the law. And yet, she did. The activist discusses the moment in 2017 when a stranger took a picture of her crotch at a festival without her consent – and how, after years of relentless campaigning, she succeeded in making upskirting a criminal offence. Martin makes it clear that anyone can make a change, no matter who they are or where they're from. And that's a lesson we all need to hear.

'Anger is a very normal response to having your human rights compromised. That's important to say. We have to stop using it to delegitimise people, with "angry feminist" or "angry Black woman" – all of these stereotypes. People are allowed to be angry about this stuff. And we have to hold space for them there. We have to realise it's not about us.

'Think about where you hold privilege – it might be in your job, as a parent, as a teacher, or just in the colour of your skin – and start this work now. Stop laughing at the jokes, buy the book, go to the event, diversify your social feeds, ask the questions. Sympathy is soothing, but it doesn't go far enough. Action does. And listen, you'll get things wrong. We all do, I've had some clangers. But it's not about perfection, it's about progress, it's about doing it because it's the right thing to do. We are so done with waiting for society to "change things" for us. We literally are society.'

Lady Gaga On Reclaiming Your Power

When Lady Gaga accepted her ELLE Women In Hollywood award in 2018, her career appeared to be at an all-time high, with Oscar buzz for her role in A Star Is Born , and her song 'Shallow' at number one in the US. But, as she explained, what people perceive a woman, especially in Hollywood, isn't always the reality.

Gaga may have made this moving speech several years ago, but it feels particularly poignant to revisit it during a period in which violence towards women is a more devastating and pressing topic than ever. In it, Gaga recounts how being sexually assaulted caused her to 'shut down' and 'hide'. She explores the debilitating effect of shame on her mental health and also the power of kindness and support in overcoming it.

Importantly, Gaga explains that she eventually found her power within herself – and how, once she took it back, she was able to use it to move beyond the prescribed expectations society puts upon women.

'What does it really mean to be a woman in Hollywood? We are not just objects to entertain the world. We are not simply images to bring smiles or grimaces to people's faces. We are not members of a giant beauty pageant meant to be pit against one another for the pleasure of the public. We women in Hollywood, we are voices. We have deep thoughts and ideas and beliefs and values about the world and we have the power to speak and be heard and fight back when we are silenced.'

'I decided today I wanted to take the power back. Today I wear the pants... I had a revelation that I had to be empowered to be myself today more than ever. To resist the standards of Hollywood, whatever that means. To resist the standards of dressing to impress. To use what really matters: my voice.'

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie On Redefining Feminism

You may not have knowingly heard to author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's speech before, but there's a good chance you will have listened to her words without realising – Beyoncé actually weaved a key part of Adichie's feminist manifesto into her track '***Flawless'. In her speech, Adichie reflects on the gender disparities still evident our society, with a focus on those in her native Africa, and dissects the meaning of 'feminist' – both the connotations and myths it carries – and how she came to define the term for herself.

'We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller, we say to girls, "You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise you would threaten the man." ...But what if we question the premise itself? Why should a woman's success be a threat to a man?

'I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be. Gender is not an easy conversation to have. For both men and women, to bring up gender is sometimes to encounter almost immediate resistance... Some of the men here might be thinking, "OK, all of this is interesting, but I don't think like that." And that is part of the problem – that many men do not actively think about gender or notice gender is part of the problem.'

Kamala Harris On Setting A New Standard For The Next Generation

On November 7 2020, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris delivered her first national address after Joe Biden 's position as President was secured. As the first woman to hold the position and the first person of colour to do so, Harris' presence alone was enough to break boundaries. But then came her words. In the speech, she reflected on triumph of democracy and credited the work of the women who came before us, plus that of 'a new generation of women in... who cast their ballots and continued the fight for their fundamental right to vote and be heard'.

'While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they've never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way.'

Amanda Gorman On Finding Your Voice

If you didn't know Amanda Gorman before this year, you'll definitely know her now, thanks to her reading at US President Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony. The United States' first-ever youth poet laureate's powerful, rhythmic poem 'The Hill We Climb' made the world stop and listen, highlighting the many inequalities in our society and reminding us that we need to work together to overcome them.

While 2021 was the year that catapulted Gorman into the spotlight, it wasn't the first time she'd spoken out about the world around her. In her 2018 TED Talk, she discusses the power of speech, learning to find her voice and how 'poetry is actually at the centre of our most political questions about what it means to be a democracy'.

'I had a moment of realisation, where I thought, "If I choose not to speak out of fear, then there's no one that my silence is standing for."'

'When someone asks me to write a poem that's not political, what they're really asking me is to not ask charged and challenging questions in my poetic work. And that does not work, because poetry is always at the pulse of the most dangerous and most daring questions that a nation or a world might face.'

'If I choose, not out of fear, but out of courage, to speak, then there's something unique that my words can become... It might feel like every story has been told before, but the truth is, no one's ever told my story in the way I would tell it.'

Frances McDormand Demands Inclusion In Hollywood

It's one thing to make a great acceptance speech at the Oscars. But to share that honour with your fellow nominees and use it as a platform to highlight where your industry needs to do better? That's a whole other story, and one told by McDormand in a speech that got everybody on their feet as she accepted the Oscar for Best Actress at the 2018 Academy Awards.

'I want to get some perspective. If I may be so honoured to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight, the actors... the filmmakers, the producers, the directors, the writers, the cinematographers, the composers, the songwriters, the designers... We all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don't talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours, whatever suits you best, and we'll tell you all about them. I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: "inclusion rider".'

Meghan Markle On Realising The Magnitude Of Individual Action

Long before she made headlines as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle had already made the world take notice. At the UN Women Conference back in 2015, she spoke about 'accidentally' becoming a female advocate when at just 11 years old, when she convinced a dish soap company to change their sexist tagline from 'Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans' to 'People all over America…' instead. Here, she discusses the power of individual action, and why we need to remind women that 'their involvement matters'.

'It is just imperative: women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there, and in some cases, where this is not available, well then, you know what, they need to create their own table. We need a global understanding that we cannot implement change effectively without women's political participation.

'It is said that girls with dreams become women with vision. May we empower each other to carry out such vision – because it isn't enough to simply talk about equality. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to simply believe in it. One must work at it. Let us work at it. Together. Starting now.

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Essay On Women Rights

500 words essay on women rights.

Women rights are basic human rights claimed for women and girls all over the world. It was enshrined by the United Nations around 70 years ago for every human on the earth. It includes many things which range from equal pay to the right to education. The essay on women rights will take us through this in detail for a better understanding.

Importance of Women Rights

Women rights are very important for everyone all over the world. It does not just benefit her but every member of society. When women get equal rights, the world can progress together with everyone playing an essential role.

If there weren’t any women rights, women wouldn’t have been allowed to do something as basic as a vote. Further, it is a game-changer for those women who suffer from gender discrimination .

Women rights are important as it gives women the opportunity to get an education and earn in life. It makes them independent which is essential for every woman on earth. Thus, we must all make sure women rights are implemented everywhere.

How to Fight for Women Rights

All of us can participate in the fight for women rights. Even though the world has evolved and women have more freedom than before, we still have a long way to go. In other words, the fight is far from over.

First of all, it is essential to raise our voices. We must make some noise about the issues that women face on a daily basis. Spark up conversations through your social media or make people aware if they are misinformed.

Don’t be a mute spectator to violence against women, take a stand. Further, a volunteer with women rights organisations to learn more about it. Moreover, it also allows you to contribute to change through it.

Similarly, indulge in research and event planning to make events a success. One can also start fundraisers to bring like-minded people together for a common cause. It is also important to attend marches and protests to show actual support.

History has been proof of the revolution which women’s marches have brought about. Thus, public demonstrations are essential for demanding action for change and impacting the world on a large level.

Further, if you can, make sure to donate to women’s movements and organisations. Many women of the world are deprived of basic funds, try donating to organizations that help in uplifting women and changing their future.

You can also shop smartly by making sure your money is going for a great cause. In other words, invest in companies which support women’s right or which give equal pay to them. It can make a big difference to women all over the world.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Women Rights

To sum it up, only when women and girls get full access to their rights will they be able to enjoy a life of freedom . It includes everything from equal pay to land ownerships rights and more. Further, a country can only transform when its women get an equal say in everything and are treated equally.

FAQ of Essay on Women Rights

Question 1: Why are having equal rights important?

Answer 1: It is essential to have equal rights as it guarantees people the means necessary for satisfying their basic needs, such as food, housing, and education. This allows them to take full advantage of all opportunities. Lastly, when we guarantee life, liberty, equality, and security, it protects people against abuse by those who are more powerful.

Question 2: What is the purpose of women’s rights?

Answer 2: Women’s rights are the essential human rights that the United Nations enshrined for every human being on the earth nearly 70 years ago. These rights include a lot of rights including the rights to live free from violence, slavery, and discrimination. In addition to the right to education, own property; vote and to earn a fair and equal wage.

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Women’s Suffrage

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 20, 2024 | Original: October 29, 2009

The women’s suffrage movement was a decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States. It took activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win that right, and the campaign was not easy: Disagreements over strategy threatened to cripple the movement more than once. But on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Women’s Rights Movement Begins

The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War . During the 1820s and '30s, most states had extended the franchise to all white men, regardless of how much money or property they had.

At the same time, all sorts of reform groups were proliferating across the United States— temperance leagues , religious movements, moral-reform societies, anti- slavery organizations—and in many of these, women played a prominent role.

Meanwhile, many American women were beginning to chafe against what historians have called the “Cult of True Womanhood”: that is, the idea that the only “true” woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family.

Put together, all of these contributed to a new way of thinking about what it meant to be a woman and a citizen of the United States.

Seneca Falls Convention

In 1848, a group of abolitionist activists—mostly women, but some men—gathered in Seneca Falls, New York to discuss the problem of women’s rights. They were invited there by the reformers Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott .

Most of the delegates to the Seneca Falls Convention agreed: American women were autonomous individuals who deserved their own political identities.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” proclaimed the Declaration of Sentiments that the delegates produced, “that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

What this meant, among other things, was that they believed women should have the right to vote.

Civil Rights and Women's Rights During the Civil War

During the 1850s, the women’s rights movement gathered steam, but lost momentum when the Civil War began. Almost immediately after the war ended, the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution raised familiar questions of suffrage and citizenship.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, extends the Constitution’s protection to all citizens—and defines “citizens” as “male”; the 15th, ratified in 1870, guarantees Black men the right to vote.

Some women’s suffrage advocates believed that this was their chance to push lawmakers for truly universal suffrage. As a result, they refused to support the 15th Amendment and even allied with racist Southerners who argued that white women’s votes could be used to neutralize those cast by African Americans.

In 1869, a new group called the National Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. They began to fight for a universal-suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Others argued that it was unfair to endanger Black enfranchisement by tying it to the markedly less popular campaign for female suffrage. This pro-15th-Amendment faction formed a group called the American Woman Suffrage Association and fought for the franchise on a state-by-state basis.

Gallery: The Progressive Campaign for Suffrage

This animosity eventually faded, and in 1890 the two groups merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the organization’s first president.

By then, the suffragists’ approach had changed. Instead of arguing that women deserved the same rights and responsibilities as men because women and men were “created equal,” the new generation of activists argued that women deserved the vote because they were different from men.

They could make their domesticity into a political virtue, using the franchise to create a purer, more moral “maternal commonwealth.”

This argument served many political agendas: Temperance advocates, for instance, wanted women to have the vote because they thought it would mobilize an enormous voting bloc on behalf of their cause, and many middle-class white people were swayed once again by the argument that the enfranchisement of white women would “ensure immediate and durable white supremacy, honestly attained.”

Did you know? In 1923, the National Woman's Party proposed an amendment to the Constitution that prohibited all discrimination on the basis of sex. The so-called Equal Rights Amendment has never been ratified.

Winning the Vote at Last

Starting in 1910, some states in the West began to extend the vote to women for the first time in almost 20 years. Idaho and Utah had given women the right to vote at the end of the 19th century.

Still, southern and eastern states resisted. In 1916, NAWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt unveiled what she called a “Winning Plan” to get the vote at last: a blitz campaign that mobilized state and local suffrage organizations all over the country, with a special focus on those recalcitrant regions.

Meanwhile, a splinter group called the National Woman’s Party founded by Alice Paul focused on more radical, militant tactics—hunger strikes and White House pickets, for instance—aimed at winning dramatic publicity for their cause.

World War I slowed the suffragists’ campaign but helped them advance their argument nonetheless: Women’s work on behalf of the war effort, activists pointed out, proved that they were just as patriotic and deserving of citizenship as men.

Finally, on August 18, 1920 , the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. And on November 2 of that year, more than 8 million women across the United States voted in elections for the first time.

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Top 4 Speech On Women’s Empowerment [1-5 Min]

Women empowerment is the process to empower women with their assigned rights and proper place in society. As a part of God’s creation, women have the similar right to live their life freely as anyone on the planet.

What to discuss in the speech on Women’s Empowerment?

Before presenting a speech on women’s empowerment, we need to understand some very essential points related to women and their empowerment. So, What are the points to be covered in the speech? Here is a list of points to keep in mind:

• What is women’s empowerment? (Definition)
• What are women deprived of? (Women’s Rights)
• The present scenario in the Country & World. (Statistics)
• Why is women’s empowerment needed? (Strong Reasons)
• How do we empower women? (Powerful Ways)
• What are the advantages of Women’s Empowerment? (Reasonable Effects)

1 Minute Speech Example

Good Morning to all the people present here. I am here today to deliver a speech on women’s empowerment. Let me start this speech by thanking you all.

Men and women hold equal weight to maintain a society. Both are supplementary to each other but women are deprived of some rights like education, decision-making, doing a job or business etc.

Furthermore, in countries like India, Women are victims of domestic violence and abusive marriages. Most noteworthy, people prefer a son to a daughter. This discrimination against women is very pathetic & needs to be removed as soon as possible.

In some developed countries, women and girls are self-dependent and they can make their own decisions and also can take their own responsibility. Hence, they contribute to the prosperity of the nation too.

Everyone has a different strength. understanding this concept, we should include them in every opportunity so that they can give their best for the community, society, and country.

Thank you again for having me a chance to share my thought on women’s empowerment.

2 Minute Speech Example

Hello, all of you present here.

First of all, I want to wish you all the best wishes for the day and also want to thank you for having me this great opportunity to share my thoughts on a very sensitive topic- “women empowerment”.

So, Imagine the electricity having only a positive charge or only a negative. Could it be possible? The short answer is No. It means both the charge together is only useful or they are equally important. The same goes for human society, Men and women are equally significant. Remove one of these from society, where is society?

Unfortunately, Women get little or no appreciation despite being talented. In male-dominated societies, women are treated as non-existent. They are deprived of some rights like education, decision-making, doing a job or business etc.

If we look at history, we will notice that women have set an example in different fields. But if we observe present conditions, we will discover that women have several limitations on them. Women empowerment is the process of retrieving their proper rights and giving them their proper place and recognition in the society.

In countries like India, Women are victims of domestic violence and abusive marriage. This discrimination against women is very pathetic & needs to be removed as soon as possible. Most noteworthy, people prefer a son to a daughter.

In some developed countries, women and girls are self-dependent and they can make their own decisions and also can take their own responsibility. And they contribute to the prosperity of the nation too.

3 Minute Speech On Women’s Empowerment

As a part of God’s creation, women must get the same rights to live their life freely as anyone on the planet. But since ancient times they are being maltreated and deprived of their rights.

Women empowerment is the process of retrieving their true rights and giving them their proper place and recognition in society.

The very primary problem that women have to face is Gender inequality . In some countries, men and women are treated equally. But still, there are a lot of countries where women are treated uniquely than men. Despite a lot of efforts, our country falls into the second bucket.

Domestic violence and discrimination against women is the second main problem. In rural areas, women are still being abused and beaten by their husbands. Men treat them like their property. Women have usually less access to education, employment, ownership, and many other things. Moreover, They are not allowed to pursue a professional life.

If we talk about the advantages of women’s empowerment, Empowered women are a success key for a family, a society, and also for a country. Educated women can shape their family’s future by giving the right guidance to their children.

Women have the right to vote according to their understanding. So ultimately they can also shape our country’s political structure. They are not intellectually unfit. They also can make healthy decisions like men.

We should take part in supporting women and girls in our society. We can enable them for almost every field that she is prevented from. Women’s education should be made compulsory so that women can become illiterate enough to live their life to full.

There is a lot to say but time is a limited resource & we should respect it. At last, I want to thank you all again for having me this valuable opportunity.

5 Minute Speech On Women’s Empowerment

Good Morning to all the people present here. Special regards to the principal, teachers & friends. I am here today to deliver a speech on women’s empowerment. Let me start this speech by thanking you all for honouring me with this valuable opportunity.

Someone has correctly said, “A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” We should include them in every opportunity so that they can give their best for the community, society, and country.

If we look at history, we will notice that women have set an example in different fields. But if we observe present conditions, we will discover that women have several limitations on them. Women empowerment is the process of retrieving their true rights and giving them their proper place and recognition in society.

This is unfortunate that women get little or no appreciation despite being talented. In male-dominated societies, women are treated as non-existent. They are still not allowed to pursue higher education and professional life. They can’t contribute to decision-making for their family.

As human beings, they also hold a similar weight as men. So it is a wake-up call for us to empower women. They should not be maltreated anymore. Women’s empowerment is like a ray of hope for women to bring them to the place to which they are entitled. It will strengthen their willpower.

In our country, women’s empowerment is an issue of conversation only. In other countries, women and girls are self-dependent and they can make their own decisions and also can take responsibility. And this is a reason for those countries to fall into the bucket of developed ones.

Women can contribute to assisting the country as they are the ones who understand the meaning of responsibility. They perform well in almost every aspect of life. Our country is among those which are less secure for females. There is a need for women’s empowerment so that they can take a stand for their rights.

There are a lot of methods to empower women. We should take part in encouraging women and girls in our society. We can allow them for almost every field that she is prevented from. Women’s education should be made necessary so that women can become literate enough to live their life to full.

Child marriage must be prevented and a huge punishment should be inflicted if someone is found involved in it. The government should spread awareness about this among people and encourage them to behave well with their daughters. Girls and women must get provided with free training on how to defend themselves and face problems boldly.

In final words, I want to say that women’s empowerment is a required demand for a better future for the country and to portray the best picture. We don’t have to do much but bring back their proper place. Having a lot of initiatives, our country is still lacking behind in women’s empowerment. We all can make it possible by taking part in encouraging and supporting our girls and women.

Other Speeches To Explore

Importance of time management speech [1,2,3 minutes], speech on ethics and etiquette [1,2,3 minutes], speech about mahatma gandhi jayanti 2023.

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“ain’t i a woman” speech at the ohio women’s rights convention.

On May 29 th , 1851, Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women’s rights activist, delivered her famous “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.

This convention was one of many that brought together a variety of activists who later helped to win the passage of the 19 th amendment. The activists at this convention were inspired by the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments created at the Seneca Falls convention of 1848. This Declaration described women’s grievances and demands for their rights to equality as U.S. citizens, and the conversation continued in Akron, Ohio. The Ohio Women’s Rights Convention is most well known for being the venue in which Sojourner’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech took place.

Though there are different versions of her speech, one published a month after the speech was given, by Reverend Marius Robinson, and one twelve years after the speech was given, published by Frances Gage, both touch on the intersectionality that exists between feminism and anti-racism. In Gage’s inaccurate transcript, Truth says “I think that betwixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North all talking about rights, these white men going to be in a fix pretty soon.” In Robinson’s historically correct transcript, Truth says “But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between-a hawk and a buzzard.” Both versions of Sojourner Truth’s speech present the idea of white feminists and black feminists working together to simultaneously defeat the patriarchy and abolish slavery, rather than to let white feminism drown out black women’s voices.

Podell, Leslie. “Compare the Two Speeches.” The Sojourner Truth Project , www.thesojournertruthproject.com/compare-the-speeches/ .

History.com Editors. “Seneca Falls Convention.” History.com , A&E Television Networks, 10 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/seneca-falls-convention .

“Ain't I A Woman?” Learning for Justice , www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/aint-i-a-woman .

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Speech: The women’s rights crisis: Listen to, invest in, include, and support Afghan women

Remarks delivered by un under-secretary-general and un women executive director sima bahous to the un security council meeting on the situation in afghanistan, un headquarters, 26 september 2023..

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[As delivered.]

Since the Taliban took over Kabul more than two years ago, this Security Council has adopted several resolutions condemning the many forms of repression directed at Afghan women and girls. It has also heard directly from 13 Afghan women, the majority of whom spoke to this chamber from exile, where too many are forced to be. And their message to us, their message on what Afghan women want, wherever they are, is what women everywhere want: the right to live free and equal lives with dignity and respect.

Over the last year, UN Women has collaborated with UNAMA [United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] and IOM [International Organization for Migration] to regularly consult Afghan women inside the country, and to try and put women at the centre of international decision-making, as required by our women, peace, and security agenda.

This last quarter, women told us, once again, that access to education remains their highest priority. More than four out of five young women and girls who should be studying are out of school. The lifetime impact of this cannot be under-estimated, not only for the women and girls who are out of education, but also their families and communities.

While many of the demands of women living inside Afghanistan have remained unchanged, there are three marked shifts that demand our urgent attention.

First, women’s influence on decision-making has shrunk dramatically, and not just at the national and provincial level. At the community, extended family, and household levels, women are seeing their decision-making spaces and authority severely curtailed, with space around household decision-making shrinking the most. This is driven by increased poverty, a decrease in women’s financial contributions, the Taliban’s imposition of hyper-patriarchal gender norms, and women’s growing isolation. In our consultations, only 22 per cent of women reported meeting with women outside of their immediate family at least once a week, and a majority reported worsened relations with other members of their families and communities. This jeopardizes women’s mental health and increases the risk of gender-based violence.

Second, women tell us that, in addition to facing an ever-growing list of restrictions on their lives, these restrictions are being enforced more frequently and with more severity, including by male family members, as the Taliban hold them accountable to enforce their decrees. With these continued restrictions we see, among other things, increases in child marriage and in child labour.

Third, while a year ago, improving safety and security, especially for working women, was the second most pressing priority, it is replaced today by mental health concerns. As the percentage of women employed continues to drop, 90 per cent of young women respondents report bad or very bad mental health, and suicide and suicidal ideation is everywhere. They tell us that they are prisoners living in darkness, confined to their homes without hope or future. As SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General] Otunbayeva said, they tell us that their elimination from public life is like a continuous fear of violent death.

Women in Afghanistan continue to demand that the international community provide spaces for them to speak directly with the de facto authorities, that international actors do not meet with the Taliban without women in their own delegations, and that international actors continue to use all means at their disposal to leverage and pressure for change, including the use of sanctions without exceptions for travel, and the issue of non-recognition.

Forty-six per cent of women consulted think that recognition should not happen under any circumstances, and 50 per cent think that it should only be granted after the Taliban end rights violations related to women’s education, employment, and participation in inclusive government.

The last time the Security Council met on Afghanistan, it was reported that there were more than 50 edicts and decrees restricting women’s rights. More have been added since.

The number of families living in poverty has nearly doubled in two years. More than two thirds of people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance to survive. Twenty million face acute hunger, the majority of whom are women and girls, and the cost of the food basket has gone up. Household debt has increased sixfold.

The Taliban’s attacks on women’s rights exacerbate this, pushing women out of jobs and opportunities to generate income, and out of the education they need to be part of Afghanistan’s future.

It is estimated that women’s employment has dropped by 25 per cent since the Taliban’s takeover compared to 7 per cent for men—and these estimates predate the many bans enacted since the end of 2022, which have barred tens of thousands of women from working in NGOs and the United Nations, and the forthcoming loss of more than 60,000 jobs that will come with the shutdown of beauty salons. These decrees are costing Afghanistan some one billion dollars per year, a sum that will only increase.

We must chart a way forward, together, guided by women’s voices and the principles of the United Nations Charter.

We have ignored these voices too often in the past. Afghan women were excluded from 80 per cent of peace negotiations from 2005 to 2020. The negotiations for the Doha agreement in 2020 excluded Afghan women and did not contain a single reference to or safeguard for women’s rights. Those failures were part of what brought us to where we are today.

The past is full of examples of neglecting or ignoring women; the present is filled with the consequences. So, the future must be focused on listening to, investing in, and supporting women as well as including them.

Women in Afghanistan will lead the change they need. They will find ways of speaking out, educating themselves, generating income, and helping others. They have done this before, and they will do it again. Our job is to hear and support them, including by finding spaces for them to meet with the de facto authorities, including women in our delegations when we meet with the de facto authorities, and using all of the tools in our toolbox to bring them out of the dark.

It also means putting money behind organizations led by and assisting Afghan women and women-run businesses. Seventy-seven per cent of women’s organizations did not receive funding in 2022. This is something we cannot accept. Just as Afghan women act with courage and creativity, opening clandestine schools and girls wearing boys’ clothes to access education, donors too can find innovative ways to reach women and girls, including through online platforms, radio, cash assistance, scholarships, and safe migration alternatives.

I leave you with three final recommendations.

First, we recommend that the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 convene a dedicated session on the role the Committee can play in responding to violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan, including hearing from Afghan women and women’s rights experts directly, updating the listing criteria, and using all the tools at the Committee’s disposal.

Second, we must consider the messages we send when we frame the situation in Afghanistan purely or exclusively as a humanitarian crisis. It is not. It is an economic crisis, it is a mental health crisis, it is a development crisis, and much more. And the thread that connects these different facets is the underlying women’s rights crisis. This must be the primary lens through which we understand what is going on and what we must do.

Third, we ask you to lend your full support to an intergovernmental process to explicitly codify gender apartheid in international law. The tools the international community has at its disposal were not created to respond to mass, state-sponsored gender oppression. This systematic and planned assault on women’s rights is foundational to the Taliban’s vision of state and society and it must be named, defined, and proscribed in our global norms, so that we can respond appropriately.

On International Women’s Day this year you invited a brave Afghan activist—Zubaida Akbar—to your deliberations. She told you what Afghan women told me when I was on mission to Afghanistan in January, and what Afghan women I met here at the General Assembly across my engagements this past week have echoed: that if you do not defend women’s rights here, you have no credibility to do so anywhere else. Zubaida Akbar was right. The world watches. In some places it watches to condemn, but in others it watches to emulate, as other countries and parties to conflict seek to mimic the violations that the Taliban have inflicted on women. The multilateral system is being tested. We must not be found wanting.

I thank you.

• Gender discrimination
• Fundamental freedoms
• Women’s rights
• Ending violence against women and girls
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Human rights
• Leadership and political participation
• Peace and security

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