The Time Is Finally Up! A New Non-MeToo-Existent World Awaits

Oprah Winfrey, the global icon, who needs no introduction, in her speech at the Golden Globe Awards underlined sexual harassment and assault at length. She addressed what women have been facing since the beginning of time and how speaking the truth in today’s day and age is something that we need. Her priceless words also encompassed the story of Recy Taylor, a young wife, and a mother, who was abducted by six armed white men, raped and left blindfolded by the side of the road, coming home from church, in the year 1944. Recalling all that happened with Recy, Oprah said, “The men who tried to destroy her were never persecuted. Recy Taylor died 10 days ago, just shy of her 98th birthday. She lived, as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up.”

Oprah rightly highlighted and encouraged ‘the mention of truth’ by every woman who had ever faced abuse and assault when she said, “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” The international movement ‘#MeToo’ brought countless women together and motivated them to share their sexual harassment and assault experiences, whether at work, home, school, travel, or any other place without any hesitation. Unnumbered women, no matter from which part of the globe, shed their inhibitions and joined the powerful movement only to speak the truth and spread awareness about it. It’s incredibly satisfying that women have finally understood the importance, in fact, the WANT of uncovering their truth.

Moving ahead with the “Time’s Up” movement, women should keep Sitting Bull’s words, “As individual fingers, we can easily be broken, but together we make a mighty fist” in their minds. It may be an arduous battle to win, nonetheless, together, women can and will, end discrimination and harassment. Led by more than 300 leading women in Hollywood, Time’s Up movement is all about bringing decades of sexual harassment, pay disparity and discrimination in Hollywood to an end. Moreover, Time’s Up pledges to support women in all fields who are struggling with the same issue. This leaderless initiative plans to target the problem by providing legal aid to survivors of sexual harassment, increasing gender parity, and creating legislation that better penalizes sexual misconduct. Wearing black to the Golden Globes 2018 in solidarity, too, was one of the symbolic moves against sexual harassment.

Like Anne Frank said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world,” the “Time’s Up” movement has given birth to new hope. Without any doubt, a bit more time and plentiful efforts later, we all will welcome the era when nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again.