Rocking her disability on the glitzy runway

Sophia Joe cannot speak or hear. But that hasn’t stopped this multi–talented model and athlete from making her way to the top wherever she goes, finds Parvathi Benu
Sophia was the show stopper with Lisa Haydon and Rima Kallingal in the Celebrity Fashion Show by Sari designer Beena Kannan at Le Meridien, Kochi
Sophia was the show stopper with Lisa Haydon and Rima Kallingal in the Celebrity Fashion Show by Sari designer Beena Kannan at Le Meridien, Kochi

At 22, Sophia M Joe from Kochi is a successful athlete and model who has won many titles including Miss Talent in the Miss South India pageant in 2013 and has shared the ramp with many big names like Lisa Haydon, Rima Kallingal and Sanjana Jon. While other models walk to the rhythm of the music, Sophia doesn’t do that because she can neither hear nor speak.

I was all set to interview Sophia through email, but that night I received a call from Sophia’s mother, Goretti Joe, who requested a telephone interview instead. A telephone interview with Sophia? How could I possibly establish a connection with her and get the answers to my questions, I wondered. But her mother told me not to worry, saying, “I’ll act as a translator between you and Sophia. I really think that this will work out well.”

The next day I gave Goretti a call. After all, I had nothing to lose. “Sophia is sitting right next to me,” says Goretti. “It’s Parvathi. Say hello to her.” Right then, I heard an unfamiliar sound from the other end. “Did you hear Sophia say hello?” she asks. “Yes!” I reply excitedly. That was the first time I had had a conversation with someone who couldn’t speak. “Sophia likes people who talk to her very much. She has a lot of friends. It is tough to understand her language at first, but after interacting with her for some time, you can understand what she says,” explains Goretti. I couldn’t wait to listen to this wonder woman’s story as her mother narrated it.

Sophia was like any other child until she was 10 months old and no one noticed anything peculiar about her. One day, Sophia, Goretti, and a few other children were part of a procession. As the noise became louder, the other children started to cry, but not Sophia. She seemed unaffected. Shocked, Sophia’s parents took her to the doctor who confirmed that the toddler was completely deaf. That came as a jolt to Goretti and her husband Joe Francis. But the couple was not ready to give up. The first thing they did was send her to a lip-reading session. “We wanted Sophia to be able to interact with everyone, unlike other deaf children who communicate only via sign language,” says Goretti.

Later, she was enrolled into a regular school. That’s where she discovered her talent in sports. She went on to participate in many sporting events for the hearing and speech impaired and became a three-time national champion and eight-time state champion in discus throw and shot put. Life took a different path when she met fashion choreographer, Dalu Krishnadas, who introduced her to modelling. She walked down the ramp for the very first time in the Les Mannequins Model Hunt 2010, where she won the title of Miss Congeniality. That was the beginning of a beautiful journey.

“It was always a dream of mine to walk down the ramp like Deepika Padukone and Rima Kallingal, but I thought that I could never do that. But my dream materialised when I walked the ramp for the first time,” says Sophia. Everything about pageants is simple for Sophia, except the Q and A round, which is still a worry for her as she finds it difficult to write the answers within the given time. “But when I face troubles, I tell myself there is no problem. I can do better,” she says.

Sophia with singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
Sophia with singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi

While this Miss Deaf India runner-up enjoys every step in the world of fashion, she has tasted the bitter side of the industry too. She recalls the time when she had won a TV reality show for models, but none of her contenders congratulated her. “People who I thought were my friends didn’t even bother to congratulate me. No one has been in touch with me since,” she says.

“Every other disabled person has the boon of being able to talk to people. They can easily make others understand, unlike us,” says Sophia. But her disability isn’t strong enough to challenge her. I had one last question for Sophia, “When are you the happiest?” I could hear Goretti repeating the question and a sound followed. “Travelling and driving,” she says. “Driving? Does she have a license?” I was astounded. “Oh yes! Did I forget to mention that Sophia is the first deaf woman from Kerala to receive a driving license, and trust me, I feel really safe when she drives,” says Goretti.

Family first
For Sophia, her family is her biggest support. She believes she couldn’t have gotten anywhere without them. Upon finding out that their child was deaf, Sophia’s parents sent her for lip reading sessions and later admitted her to a regular school. They wanted her to have a normal life

College diaries
Sophia graduated in English Literature from St Xavier’s College for Women, Aluva in 2016. Sophia loved her college days and had a lot of friends who helped her very much with studies. Even though she was busy with fashion shows and shoots, she did her best to not miss college

Reach Out: josephfranc@gmail.com

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