Why do Iranian conservatives hate this top-rated TV series?
“Don’t Leave Me,” a family saga, got top ratings in Iran’s Ramadan TV. But its rape scene and secular tone raised the ire of conservatives.
Iranian state TV censorship of a popular series has once again created a controversy in the Iranian circles, starting a debate on rape, child molestation and sexuality on screen.
The controversy follows the decision of the state TV’s censorship of an episode of “Don’t Leave Me,” a top-rated TV series that ran throughout Ramadan, the high season for TV in the whole region.
In Iran, state TV channels broadcast 30-episode series throughout the holy month of Ramadan, usually airing the series late in the evening after the call to prayer and iftar (the evening meal that ends fasting). "Don’t Leave Me" was the heavyweight series shown on state TV Channel 3, overtaking its competitors with its high ratings.
The plot revolves around a family and its secrets when one of the siblings admits to the others that he forged their father's documents so that the family property could become his. Iranians loved the saga, with its many twists and turns, but censorship authorities took a dislike to one of the stories where an Iranian woman of 30 is attacked and raped.
