I Am a Mother tells the story of a young woman raped by a man who is a close friend of her parents.
She kills the man in revenge for the offense, then her mother claims she was the murderer in order to save her daughter from qisas, the Islamic law of equal retaliation in punishment.
However, the rapist’s wife wants the young woman to be executed. At the premiere, the movie, which is alleged to contain un-Islamic scenes and dialogue, provoked controversy in Tehran.
Opponents and proponents of I Am a Mother, directed by Fereydoun Jeyrani, held gatherings in front of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The opponents, which were led by Ansar Hezbollah, also organised a demonstration against the movie.