مادرشوهر

The مادرشوهر relationship is loaded. In multi-generational Iranian households (still common, especially outside the largest cities), a young wife often lives with or very near her husband's family, which means daily contact with the مادرشوهر. The "evil mother-in-law" stereotype is a long-running comedy and drama trope in Iranian television, films, and popular jokes. The trope cuts in both directions: the controlling mother-in-law who runs her son's marriage, and the resentful young wife who reads every comment as an attack.