Recent data from Bangladesh's National Emergency Service 999 and human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra reveal that husbands are the most common perpetrators named in complaints of violence against women. An analysis of calls to 999 from January to August this year found that of 27,911 complaints related to violence against women, 17,196—nearly 62 percent—were against husbands, averaging about 70 complaints per day. This marks an increase from 2025, when 58 percent of such complaints throughout the year were against husbands.

The report follows two recent deaths that drew public attention: Mukta Islam, whose husband was filmed beating her with a belt in a video that went viral after her death, and Al Maida Akter, 20, a sociology student who died after sustained abuse by her husband, who fled but was later caught by locals and handed to police. Both women reportedly endured prolonged abuse while remaining in their marriages.

Women's rights activists say the persistence of such violence stems from a cultural failure to treat domestic abuse as a crime. Fauzia Moslem, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, said there exists a culture of normalising domestic violence to the point of social acceptability, with women pressured to endure abuse for the sake of preserving marriage. Activists argue that unless domestic violence is recognised and prosecuted as a criminal offence, such abuse—and resulting deaths—will continue to rise.