Virali Modi was molested by porters. Now, she is trying to make Indian railways disabled-friendly

Virali Modi decided to take matters in her own hands and has started a petition. Photo courtesy: Facebook/ Virali Modi

Women in India are always on a vigil, taking extra precautions to keep themselves safe from the perverts, who freely roam the streets of the country.

There are times, however, when they can do little to safeguard their modesty, majorly because of the perplexity of the situation they are in.

Viral Modi, who, after a near-death experience became paralysed at the age of 13, has had a few harrowing experiences while travelling in India. Much like most women in the country.

After the accident, Modi became wheelchair-bound. But, this did not deter her spirit. However, she was felt deeply disturbed after she was molested by a porter while travelling.

Post her accident, she took a train from Mumbai to New Delhi with her mother. Soon, she realized how difficult it was going to be to get on the train.

In an interview to Indian Express, she said, "The first thought that entered my mind was, how will I get inside the train? There was no ramp; the doorway was extremely narrow and the wheelchair wouldn't possibly fit in."

Modi's mother convinced two porters to help her, but that did not end too well.

"One guy held me between my legs, from underneath my knees, while the other went inside the train and grabbed me by placing his hands underneath my armpits. While he was doing that, he put his hands on my breasts. Initially, I thought it was unintentional, something that could have happened by mistake, but his hands felt me up repeatedly till the time I was put on my seat," she continued.

Also read: And then, he groped me...

At 17, she realized how difficult it was going to be to keep herself safe from the predators. Unfortunately, she was right.

The same thing happened to her in 2011, and then again in 2014. Both times porters took advantage of her situation and groped her.

Thus, Modi decided not to be a victim anymore and take charge. She also realized that Indian railways are not disabled-friendly and something needs to be done about it.

Thus, in a bid to make things better for women like her, she tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to bring the issue to their notice.

After nothing major happened, Modi decided to take matters in her own hands and started a petition. Since then, she has received hordes of messages and letters telling the same tale.

"The thing is, we don't need sympathy, we don't need pity, we need empathy. We need the government to empathise with us and provide facilities. Ever since I've become disabled, I've been trained by therapists to be as independent as possible, and my government is making my life as an independent, disabled woman difficult," she said to the leading daily.

Attagirl! You are truly an inspiration to others.

Also read: Dear molester, I hated you for years, but now, I feel sorry for you