Director: Hossein Shahabi
Cast: Fariba Khademi, Nasim Adabi, Mahsa Abiz, Maryam Sarmadi, Mohammad Akbari
Haraaj is a 2014 Iranian drama film directed by Hossein Shahabi, running 86 minutes. The story centers on a first wife navigating the legal and financial consequences of her husband's second marriage under Iranian family law, examining property, debt, and the limits of marital obligation.
What is Haraaj about?
Forough is a middle-aged woman whose world fractures when she discovers her husband has entered a second marriage — a union conducted quietly and, under Iranian law, entirely within his rights. The husband now sits in prison, unable to settle the mandatory marital payment owed to his second wife. That second wife moves through the courts seeking an order to auction off the family home as repayment. Forough, facing the loss of the only property she has, decides to act. She begins gathering every asset she possesses — piece by piece — in an attempt to cover her husband's debt and secure his release before the house is lost. The film follows her effort against a ticking legal clock, exploring the tension between personal loyalty and the cold machinery of law.
Cast & crew
The film is directed by Hossein Shahabi. The cast includes Fariba Khademi and Nasim Adabi in central roles, supported by Mahsa Abiz, Maryam Sarmadi, Mohammad Akbari, Mohammad Kart, and Giti Ghasemi. The ensemble anchors the domestic drama with understated performances that keep the focus on character rather than spectacle.
Context & significance
Iranian social drama has long examined the legal and emotional friction built into family structures, and Haraaj fits squarely within that tradition. For diaspora viewers, the film offers a window into the everyday legal realities of Iranian family law — polygamy, mehrieh obligations, and property rights — rendered not as polemic but as lived, personal crisis. The premise is neither sensationalized nor simplified: it follows one woman's very practical problem with quiet attention. Viewers familiar with Iranian legal customs will recognize the specifics; those less familiar will find the human stakes immediately clear regardless of background.
Where & how to watch
Haraaj is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. You can watch on the web browser, a connected TV, or your phone — no VPN required, no geo-blocking, no extra download needed. Membership can be cancelled anytime.