The TV drama that shocked the Arab world

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 June 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Earlier this year, the Egyptian TV drama Lam Shamseya aired across the Arab world. It tackled sensitive topics, including child sexual abuse, and sparked difficult conversations in society. Faranak Amidi discusses the issues raised by this hit show with Ahmed Abdallah from BBC Arabic.

If you have been affected by the issues discussed in this episode, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.org. In the UK a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Plus, Wycliffe Muia from BBC Africa explains why Uganda's iconic crested crane is endangered, and Mansur Abubakar, also from BBC Africa, meets one of the very few women driving kekes, small three-wheeled vehicles that people use as cabs, in the Nigerian city of Kano.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi Produced by Alice Gioia, Hannah Dean and Caroline Ferguson

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.
0:07.8	This is the fifth floor.
0:11.5	The fifth floor, you knowssonous.
0:15.9	To me, Ikeye, the fifth floor, Farnak Amidi, Sobert.
0:20.8	This is the fifth floor at Farnak Amidi Sobath. This is the fifth floor at the heart of global storytelling with BBC journalists from all around the world.
0:28.9	I'm your host, Faranak Amidi.
0:35.5	Earlier this year, Lam Shamsaya, a fictional TV drama, took the Arab world by storm and sparked a lot of difficult conversations.
0:50.8	Why? My colleague Ahmed Abdallah from BBC Arabic has been looking into it,
0:57.1	and he joined me from our BBC offices in Beirut to tell me more.
1:01.7	But before we start, I should warn you that Ahmed and I will be talking about some sensitive topics,
1:07.5	including child sexual abuse.
1:10.1	So if this episode isn't for you, come back in 10 minutes or so, or you can download
1:15.7	another episode of the fifth floor from our archives.
1:18.7	Here is Ahmed.
1:19.8	Lam Shamsia was a series aired during Ramadan 2025.
1:25.0	You know, Ramadan is the time where families gather in front of television and they tune in for
1:31.3	powerful long-form series. Usually they have powerful messages and sometimes they are only for
1:38.4	entertainment. This time it wasn't like this. This story captivated audiences all across the region because of the courageous exploration of child sexual abuse, which is actually a subject rarely addressed directly in the Arab TV. The story follows seemingly ordinary Egyptian family whose stability is shattered by suspicions of abuse
2:04.2	and it exposes the deep social silences around trauma, around power.
2:10.6	And tell me more about the setup and the story.
2:14.7	You said it's about a family that their stability is shattered because of something
2:22.0	they ask them to be child abused. Tell me more about it.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.