A husband was beating his wife with a leather belt while their children were crying in the next room. Although she denied the allegations he was making, the beating continued. A video of the incident went viral on social media last week. The woman who was beaten was Mukta Islam. The video came to light only after her death.

Before the discussion over that incident had subsided, news emerged of the death of another woman, Al Maida Akter, 20, after being subjected to violence. Maida was declared dead after being taken to hospital, and her husband fled. Local people caught him and handed him over to the police.

Speaking to the family, it was learned that two days before her death, Maida had sent her cousin a photograph of injuries sustained from a beating. Her cheek was bandaged and her eye was swollen.

Both women died after suffering regular abuse at the hands of their husbands. They continued their marriages despite enduring the violence. Statistics on calls received by the National Emergency Service 999 and data from the human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) show that among complaints of violence against women, those against husbands are the most common.