Gender and Empowerment: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Malala Yousafzai's United Nations Speech

Abstract

Language is important in the creation and construction of social realities, in the development of identity and in the contestation of dominant ideologies. Public addresses, especially, are effective means of raising social justice awareness and shaping the public opinion on global matters. Within these speeches, Malala Yousafzai's speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly on 12 July 2013 has been shared internationally for its compelling calls to action on girls' education, gender equality and women's empowerment. The speech demonstrates in persuasive and ideologically resonant language the central role of education as a fundamental right and not just as a privilege, and it condemns gender discrimination, violence and extremism. While scholars around the globe have focused on Malala's activism and learned from her influence, little work has attempted to analyse the United Nations (UN) speech from a gender empowerment perspective using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).

This study applies a qualitative research design and adopts the three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Norman Fairclough (1995) to examine how the language of speaking and the discourse patterns convey the idea of gender empowerment. The linguistic analysis is mainly informed by textual features, discursive practices and larger social practices, in order to explore how language is used to construct identities, challenge patriarchy and promote girls' education as a strategy of empowerment. Lexical selection, the use of pronouns, modality, repetition, rhetorical devices and persuasive strategies that support the overall discourse of equality and social change are highlighted.

The results will show that Malala uses rhetorical devices, linguistic strategies and ideological representations to produce an empowering discourse, which calls for equal educational opportunities to combat social injustice. The present study enriches the study of Critical Discourse Analysis, gender studies, sociolinguistic and educational discourse with a comprehensive understanding of the role of language as a powerful instrument in achieving gender equality and social change.