A Rhetorical Analysis Of Malala Yousafzai's Speech

Words have the power to inspire others to create change in the world. An example of this can be found in Malala Yousafzai’s address to the Canadian Parliament on April 12, 2017. Yousafzai is a Pakistani advocate for female education who once feared for her life that her education would be taken away. When she was only fifteen years old, she was shot by Taliban militants for her stance on education. Since then, she has made a full recovery and has gained international recognition as a strong activist for female education. Yousafzai uses her platform at the Canadian parliament, upon receiving an honorary Canadian citizenship, to address the importance of female education in all countries in the world, and the role Canadians can play in her cause. Moreover, she attempts to persuade her audience to become leaders in the cause for female education by making reference to examples, appealing to Canadian patriotism, and creating ethical appealing.
Yousafzai uses examples from when Canada took the role as leaders in their commitment to refugees. She goes on to comment how,

Yousafzai firmly establishes that Canadians are leaders, a nation that others follow by example, and uses this to her advantage in the message she conveys to her audience, emphasizing the desperate need for leaders, young ones in particular, who will leave a lasting impact on others in the cause for female education worldwide. Great leaders possess the ability to inspire change, and Yousafzai looks at Canada as a nation who can and will bring change for female education and as leaders for future generations to come. Her speech successfully leaves a memorable impact on her audience in such a way that not only inspires but, manipulates her audience to support female education, demonstrating the capability words have to influence people for the better or