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This article contains spoilers for episode nine of Jama Taqseem.

The latest episode of Jama Taqseem was a powerful one, and it highlighted a very important and serious topic — harassment in joint family homes.

The drama stars Mawra Hocane as Laila and Talha Chahour as Qais, a newly married couple adjusting to living with his large family. In the house are Qais’ parents, and two brothers, along with their families. Amid all the family squabbles is a terrible secret that has been building up since the start of the show — Sidra, the daughter of one of the brothers, is being harassed by her cousin Zeeshan.

The situation escalates in the ninth episode when Sidra is ill and stays home while the rest of the family goes out for dinner. Zeeshan is also at home and attacks her in a dramatic scene that culminates in Qais arriving and saving her.

The premise of the show — a carefree girl trying her best to fit in with a very traditional family but failing — meant it was already on everyone’s radars, with social media awash with posts about how very relatable it was. From the ‘evil’ sisters-in-law to the controlling parents, Laila’s journey has had viewers glued to their screens. This latest episode, however, has taken the spotlight off Laila and Qais and onto the very serious issue of harassment and abuse.

Fans on X were all praises for the cast and their acting, especially that of the younger actors.

One aspect that was highlighted is that Sidra tried to tell her mother about the harassment but her concerns were brushed aside. Many users had a message for all parents — believe your children!

Qais’ other nephew, his sister’s son, had warned his mother about Zeeshan a few episodes earlier. Laila, being an outsider, also picked up on something being amiss and highlighted it to Qais, but he didn’t really believe her either. One fan reminded everyone that if Laila had been the one to rescue Sidra and witness Zeeshan’s harassment, no one would have believed her.

Many spoke about the gut-wrenching feeling of knowing many young girls are brought up in homes where they cannot speak up about their abuse and “are never told there’s a way out”.

The show also started an important conversation about teaching boys to be better and making sure girls know they can speak up and be heard.

Rather than portraying the violence of the act, the episode focused on the aftermath — the trauma and fear — and that’s something fans believe the show’s creators got right.

The trauma in the episode was manifold — there was Sidra’s trauma after being stalked and abused for who knows how long, that of her parents who realised they didn’t know what their daughter was going through and that of the rest of the family who realised they turned a blind eye to the situation.

There was also a moment of redemption for Shafaq, Zeeshan’s sister, who hadn’t been very kind to Sidra or her younger sister Maria throughout the show. Her slow realisation of what her brother did and her attempt to comfort the girls showed that she wasn’t just a one-dimensional ‘evil’ character.

The episode brought many fans to tears.

Both because of the powerful writing and performances.

Many viewers are happy with the sensitive way the show handled the topic and realistically portrayed the trauma of abuse. They’re just hoping the creators’ don’t stray from the course the show is on.