Christine Blasey Ford’s dramatic testimony was rich in pathos and left those watching her with teary eyes.
Blasey, who is a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, is the woman who claims that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in a locked room at a house party in 1982, when she was 15 years old and he was 17.
Kavanaugh is an attorney and jurist who serves as a judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He is President Donald Trump’s nominee to be a judge of the Supreme Court of the US, the nation’s highest court.
Last week’s testimonies by Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh at the judiciary committee of the US Senate played out on our pages and thousands of other media outlets around the world.
The case of Ford v Kavanaugh, fought out in front of a riveted national and global audience, provided both a dramatic spectacle worthy of a movie drama and shed an illuminating spotlight into the travails - and foibles - of contemporary American life.
Like voyeurs, TV audiences in the US and on CNN around the world were engrossed by the sight of Trump’s choice.
In a way, it was good that the testimonies, and the subsequent debate by members of the judiciary committee, were shown worldwide, most notably on CNN, which reaches the remotest ends of the globe.
The global audience was treated to a display of toxic masculinity and male arrogance, which have become a force in US politics - and in many other countries, too.
I realised and was saddened by how little the Republican senators have learned from the #MeToo movement, which gained traction around the world in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse scandals.
He is accused of sexual assault, rape and myriad other sordid crimes by more than 80 women, over a period spanning more than 30 years.
Or after the shameful Bill Cosby shenanigans, for which he was jailed last week.
Even the Anita Hill saga, in which she testified 27 years ago about the alleged sexual misconduct of US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, appears to have had little effect.
Once again, a woman was forced to speak of a painful, intimate experience before a cynical, incredulous Republican group that was all male, and - dare I say it - all white.
The contrast between the two was remarkable. Dr Ford was thoughtful, and her demeanour was circumspect and judicial.
Judge Kavanaugh was rambunctious, petulant, sneering and volatile. He ducked direct questions, even at one stage thundering that Dr Ford’s allegations were a form of “revenge” brought on behalf of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The judiciary committee voted in favour of Kavanaugh along party lines, and that nomination now goes to a full vote of the US Senate, where the Republicans hold a majority.
Kavanaugh will almost certainly be appointed the next member of the Supreme Court of the US. Once appointed, for life, Kavanaugh will be in a position to sway the balance of opinion in the highest court for many years to come.
There’s no doubt that last week’s judiciary committee debate will leave both individuals wounded and scarred. But, in a way, it is good that it happened. They showed that women all over the world face the same challenges. Rich and poor, educated and disadvantaged, white or black - the travails are universal.
The hearings were all about power and gender politics, about equality and respect. About decency. The quietly spoken Dr Ford, for me, was inspirational and heroic.
With the midterm elections around the corner, let’s hope many voters in the US would have felt the same and that they make their voices heard.
Sol Makgabutlane is an assistant editor at The Star