The Quran says to beat women “from whom you fear disobedience” (4:34). That creates a culture in which misogyny and abuse of women are seen as normal.

“Two brothers kept their mother and sister as slaves by beating them with belts and forcing them to wash in a single bucket of water in an ‘unimaginable’ campaign of abuse,” by Abe Hawken, Mailonline, June 12, 2017:

Two brothers who kept their mother and sister as slaves and forced them to wash in a small bucket of water have been put behind bars for more than two years.

Faisal Hussein, 25, and Arbaaz Ahmed, 19, told their family members they were not allowed to turn on the taps at the property in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

During the ‘appalling and disgraceful’ 18-month period of abuse, the two women were given £1 a month to spend on essential sanitary products.

A judge at Bradford Crown Court said the violent assault on their 30-year-old sister was ‘almost unimaginable to any decent human being.’

The brothers used the buckle of a belt, a wooden spoon and a shoe during the sustained and repeated assault on their sister.

The judge added that to treat another human in that way was unforgivable, more so because it was their sister and mother.

He said the mother and the sister ‘were essentially your slaves’ and the assault on their sister involved ‘absolutely appalling violence’.

Hussein and Ahmed, both of Bradford, admitted assaulting their sister Ruhee Hussein on May 16 this year.

The pair also admitted using controlling and coercive behaviour on her and their mother, Nasara Hussein, 53, between January 1, 2016 and May 16, 2017.

Judge Jonathan Rose said: ‘It culminated in a violent assault upon your own sister which is almost unimaginable to any decent human being.’

On the day of the assault, Ruhee felt unwell but was made to clean the bathroom and was not allowed any breakfast, the court heard.

She was then ordered into the living room, where both brothers slapped her head, face and ear.

Ahmed armed himself with a metal-buckled belt, wrapped it round his hand and struck his sister with the buckle.

He hit her so hard with a wooden spoon that it broke. Hussein struck her with her own shoe.

Ahmed kicked his sister to the floor, where they continued to punch and slap her. She suffered excruciating pain and felt as if she was going to die.

She was thrown out of the house and was seen in a distressed state by a member of the public who contacted police.

Ahmed’s barrister, Nick Worsley, said the teenager had witnessed similar contact between his father and female members of the family, which may have made it appear acceptable to behave in such a way….