THIS AND THAT michelle cahill Equal in every way

THE NEW year has just started and already it feels like it is going to be an extra long one. Our president is already holding the country by the short and curlies as he (still) holds the economic future of South Africa in his hands. Moody’s has vowed a downgrade if he doesn’t step down.

On the flip side, however, the rand strengthened when the rumours started that President Jacob Zuma may be recalled.

But then again, according to a World Bank report, South Africa’s economy is only expected to grow by a paltry 1.1 percent.

So all in all, not a very positive start and, economy-wise, it is going to be a long, bumpy year.

Yet the thing that has really got me thinking this week is the now viral Oprah Winfrey speech at the Golden Globe Awards.

Oprah on Sunday received a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to the entertainment industry over the years.

I’m not a big Oprah fan, but she is one of the most influential women in the world and nobody can ignore her.

Hell, she even had (Donald) Trump reacting to her speech – then again it doesn’t take much for him to reach for his preferred device and cause a stir on Twitter.

But what really stood out for me is that she put into words what a lot of women globally shy away from talking about.

We all remember how last year wasn’t a very good year in the entertainment industry, with stories of sexual harassment doing the rounds.

But, it is happening all over, not only in Tinseltown, and still women are not speaking up.

It is just generally accepted that it is the way things are.

And, in Oprah’s words, “Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year, we became the story.”

In her speech she said that it’s not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It’s one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics or workplace.

“So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue,” Oprah continued. “They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they’re in academia and engineering and medicine and science.

“They’re part of the world of tech and politics and business.

“They’re our athletes in the Olympics and they’re our soldiers in the military.”

On this point I totally agree with Oprah that “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.”

Women in the workplace have been harassed for far too long.

It doesn’t matter in what form it is, be it sexually, judged on their gender, being paid less than their male counterparts or being made to feel intellectually inferior.

The sad part is, that we are not.

We are equal in all ways to our male counterparts and it is time we believed that and we no longer have to play the victim.

It’s time to buck up soldier, put on your armour and show the world we will not be undermined and taken advantage of any longer.

If we can do this, hopefully the year won’t be totally lost.