Who Is Virali Modi? Disability Rights Activist Accuses Businessman Of Harassment

Disability rights activist and motivational speaker Virali Modi recently shared a post on Twitter which contained screenshots of her alleged conversation with a business tycoon on her social media and accused him of sexual harassment.

The tweet was shared by Modi on October 3 which was later shared by the Twitter handle of MeToo India. The tweet reportedly contained screenshots of her chat with a businessman, producer and investor. Modi shared the screenshots with the caption, "TW: Sexual Harassment This person posted an ad on Instagram for a casting call regarding a modelling gig for a big brand. He said I was pretty but he wasn’t looking for someone on a wheelchair for that specific modelling gig but he would keep me in mind for future projects."

Chat Posted by Virali Modi

Chat Posted by Virali Modi on Twitter

In the chats, the businessman allegedly texted her, "You have such amazing lips and face.....if you were normal and not with your condition I would be darn horny for you........as I just loved that face of yours".

Virali Modi replied to the text with an explanation of how her "physical condition" does not make her any less desirable and whatever he said was "very barbaric and he should have some decency." To this, the businessman reportedly texted, "I will......so sorry....it just you have a great face....sorry to hurt you.....will repent for sure what I said."

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Who Is Virali Modi?

Virali Modi is a specially-abled model and the first runner up of the 2014 Miss Wheelchair India contest. Born on September 29, 1991, Modi spent most of her childhood in the United States. In 2006, she visited India for a short trip and upon returning to the US, she began having high fever. Her parents visited multiple hospitals who weren't able to diagnose the issue and kept her on medication which suppressed her symptoms. However, her health deteriorated and was taken to the hospital. It was diagnosed that she contracted malaria while she was in India and she went into a 23 days long coma when her condition worsened.

When she woke up from her coma, she found that she was paralysed from neck down. Modi says she went into depression and after multiple sessions of physical therapy, she was able to gain mobility in her upper-body. After winning Miss Wheelchair India, Modi gained confidence to start modelling but for that, she worked on her strength first.

Modi has been a disability rights activist since then. She has rallied to fix India's railway stations which are not disable-friendly. While travelling from train in India, Modi has a really bad experience because of her disability and she started #MyTrainToo campaign to make Indian railways accessible to people on wheelchair. Because of her efforts, 9 railway stations in India were made wheelchair friendly.

Modi appeared in BBC 100 Women list in 2017 and is now a model and TEDx speaker who is inspiring wheelchair bound individuals and increasing awareness to make public places accessible for them.