Actor Vidyut Jamwal, the face of hit movie Commando, has undertaken a personal campaign to ensure the safety and security of girls and women remains paramount in the public mindset.

By Updesh Kapur/Doha

Ban Ki-moon’s outrage was the second in 18 months that he lashed out at India which has faced the wrath of media for not doing enough to protect its female citizens.

The UN chief has been urging India to take drastic action against those committing deadly sexual violence against women and task it to implement stringent preventive measures in light of some of the most sickening incidents.

Last week, two girls aged 12 and 14, were brutally raped and strangled with their bodies left hanging from a tree in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state.

The incident led to the UN diplomat to intervene when hearing of the appalling crime that further demonstrated the seriousness of the problem faced by the South Asian nation.

His earlier call to New Delhi to protect women came in December 2012 after a 23-year-old woman sustained serious injuries during a gang rape on a bus in the capital before being thrown onto the road and left for dead late at night. She died two weeks later after being flown to Singapore for treatment to injuries, described by doctors as the worst they had even seen in their medical careers.

“We say no to the dismissive, destructive attitude of ‘boys will be boys’. Together, we can empower more people to understand that violence against women degrades us all,” said Ban ki-moon, referring to an Indian political leader’s comments about rapes that ‘boys sometimes make mistakes’.

Growing crime against women is the single most issue expressed vocally by an Indian public frightened to let wives and daughters out alone, particularly after dusk.

There is never a day that goes by without Indian media reporting on rapes and fatal attacks on women. Politicians play a game of ping pong, verbally attacking each other by claiming the barbarous crimes are exploited for political mileage and that the media are biased in their reporting.

Media has been blamed for tarnishing India’s image overseas while politicians go further to attack the celebrity fraternity for attracting vulgarity into homes through movies and films, thus “polluting” young minds.

But the political fighting is just hollow and the public’s faith in politicians is waning.

The national capital of New Delhi has long been maligned as the rape epicentre of India.

The much publicised 2012 bus rape case that horrified the international community as much as a nation which prayed and grieved for the victim, happened in the same city where a 51-year-old Danish tourist was attacked and gang raped.

Over the past four decades, the number of reported rape cases in India has surged nearly 900% to 24,923 in 2012, according to statistics from India’s National Crime Records Bureau, in a nation of 1.3bn people.

But the statistics cloud the real figures which are alarmingly much, much higher. Most experts estimate fewer than one in 10 rapes is ever reported in India. More chilling are official figures that claim there is a rape in India every 22 minutes.

The stigma of rape runs deep. Women fear being outcast by family and society if such attacks are reported. There’s pressure from family members including parents of victims to keep quiet about the crime. There are cases where the crime is committed at home, even more reason for victims frightened to report them. Women accused of rape may face embarrassing questions from lawyers about their sexual history, the nature of their dress and whether it was consensual or not.

No country is free of sexual violence. In India, sometimes a rape is more than a crime of passion, but a result of inter-caste conflict.

Lower castes, formerly known as untouchables, complain they are routinely raped by the land-owning upper castes, for example.

Cases of rape do not help the cause of a nation which has been the economic darling of foreign investors for years.

Attacks on Western tourists do little to boost India’s image internationally. Neither do reports of low conviction rates of rape cases in a country where the Indian judiciary system is notoriously slow and the attitude of society and police towards rape victims is poor.

There have been tougher laws against rape, greater media attention and police opening up new units dedicated to helping women, but there is still a long way to go to counter violence against females.

Police have begun day-long awareness sessions on prevention of crime against women, encouraging females to confidently report cases of abuse. Persistent touching by men in confined spaces such as trains and buses, or sexual banter from male office colleagues are serious enough to report – and need action against to protect women’s freedom in society.

Last week, Maneka Gandhi, the minister for women and child development, announced that a one-stop crisis centre to fight crime against women will be set up in districts across India by the end of the year.

She said that medical, legal and police aid will become a compulsory offering to women who are victims of rape and sexual assault. The short stay help centres will be run by the government with trained staff in each.

Bollywood, India’s much-acclaimed and famed film industry is joining in the efforts to protect women. And here it is not talk, but action.

Movie star Vidyut Jamwal, famed for performing his own stunts in action films such as the hits Commando and Force, has been running regular self-defence classes for women in India’s commercial capital Mumbai for more than a year and set up a martial arts school in southern India specifically for females.

The young actor, who has a black belt under him, has undertaken a personal campaign to ensure the safety and security of girls and women remains paramount in the public mindset.

“I would like to make women self-sufficient and make them feel empowered with confidence to take care of their own safety,” he says, speaking to me from Mumbai.

“I teach self-defence techniques free to anyone who wants to learn. The training programme in between my shooting schedules helps women become physically and mentally stronger.”

Jamwal, a man of steel and determination, wants to instill the same grit and tough attitude into females, knowing that a positive, brave and strong character can help them keep male pariahs at a distance.

He has spread his ideals to schools, colleges and offices in Mumbai, also encouraging them to adopt self-defence programmes.

Injecting his own time, money and energy into the initiative, he feels it is important for girls and women to be independent and be able to help themselves in a difficult situation.

Let’s hope for India’s sake, the government really steps in with determined efforts to provide females with a safe and secure environment that they so deserve.

Action speaks louder than words.