PDK fooled many by advocating for greater Kurdistan, but they are about to lose even the autonomous region. PKK and PUK will ally and we will finally live under a democratic Kurdistan ✌🏻
A new video by Kuwaiti-Palestinian influencer Rawan Bin Hussain offers an unusual glimpse into how power operates around the Barzani family, through her account of a brief relationship and the machinery she says was turned against her.
The video itself is a broader reflection on Rawan's life, relationships and psychological struggles. During one section, she discusses a man she describes only as son of a regional leader, adding that most of her followers already know his identity. She appears to be referring to KRG PM’s son Areen. Their relationship and the controversy surrounding it were widely discussed both in Kurdistan and among Rawan's followers.
The relationship itself appears to have lasted months but it in itself of limited significance. What matters is Rawan's account of what followed and what it may reveal about how power operates around the ruling family, even in response to something as ordinary as a brief personal relationship.
Rawan says she was still recovering from the psychological effects of her previous marriage when she was introduced to him. Shortly afterwards, she says, her life was upended.
She alleges that she and her daughter faced severe threats, including threats to kidnap her daughter and "slaughter" her. She says her accounts were hacked, her telephone calls were monitored and recorded, fabricated conversations were leaked, coordinated hashtag campaigns were directed against her and her business was targeted. As she puts it, she suddenly found herself entangled in "a state-security case."
The threats appear to have begun around the same time that Rawan publicly tagged Areen in an Instagram Story, indirectly revealing that they were in a relationship. That post may have been the immediate trigger for what followed. Rawan appears to have regarded it as an ordinary personal gesture, without fully understanding the political and social sensitivities surrounding a public relationship with a member of the Barzani family, particularly given the family's conservatism and Areen's position within it.
Her account is significant because of the alleged response. A private relationship that lasted two weeks appears to have become, in her telling, a matter involving threats against a child, digital surveillance, hacking, fabricated material, coordinated online campaigns and state-security mechanisms.
Rawan says the experience pushed her back onto psychiatric medication and left her unable to sleep, get out of bed or interact with people without tranquilizers. Yet she directs much of the blame towards herself, arguing that her unresolved trauma had made her vulnerable to destructive relationships. Her video is therefore framed as a reflection on her own choices rather than a political exposé.
The apparent sensitivity surrounding the case has also extended to public discussion. Previous Kurdistan Watch reporting on footage publicly released by Rawan faced a "private media" complaint and account suspension, even though the video showed only Rawan speaking. This does not establish who submitted or directed the complaint, but it illustrates how difficult the case has been to discuss publicly.
These remain allegations made by Rawan and have not been independently verified. She does not name Areen in this particular video, although the context and her earlier public references point clearly to him.