Talakhan, daughter of Salim Khani Baneh, was born in 1936 in a noble and patriotic family. Salim Khani, was the ruler of Baneh and Sardasht, who had taken out all the areas under the Iranian occupation and ruled himself as a patriotic Kurd. During World War II, my grandfather Sheikh Latifi Hafid, along with prominent figures in Sulaimaniyah, Muheddin Chenarayi, Mullah Asaad al-Mahwi, and some of his companions, went to Baneh and were welcomed by Salim Khan.
Later, as a tribute to Sheikh Latifi Hafid, the son of the First King of Kurdistan, Salim Khani Baneh met tribal leaders of Sardasht and receives their approval to make Sheikh Latifi Hafid as the ruler of Sardasht. They agreed, and Sheikh Latif became the ruler of Sardasht, Muheddin Chenarayi became the ruler of the conciliation, and Mullah Asaad al-Mahwi became the ruler of the law.
They have ruled area for nearly a year, and according to evidence and statements from those who lived at the time, they were able to run a successful administration, adapted law and solved many social problems of the area. Sheikh Latif was planning to expand his rule, but his brother Sheikh Baba Ali returned him to Sulaimaniyah because the Iraqi government had threatened to exterminate his family if sheikh Latif did not leave eastern Kurdistan.
Salim Khani Baneh’s courageous attitude towards Sheikh Latifi Hafid encouraged Malik Mahmud to call Salim Khan to give his daughter to son Sheikh Latif (at that time this phenomenon was common among famous Kurdish families). So Salim Khani Baneh agreed and said “I will present Tala my daughter to Sheikh Latifi hafid, son of Kurdistan’s king”. Later, Salim Khani Baneh was intoxicated and martyred by the Iranian occupation authority in 1945. After his martyrdom, the Iranian invading army attacked Saqqez and Baneh and re-invaded the areas. At that time, Sheikh Latif, at a request of Malik Mahmood, took a family of Salim Khani Baneh to his home on Kanariwe to be safe. Salim Khan’s family then returned to Baneh, and Sheikh Latif al-Hafid married Talakhani Salim Khani Baneh and they have three daughters: Mahabad, Shno and Nijo.
Talakhan was at a very young age when his husband, Sheikh Latifi Hafid, died. At that time, Talakhan, took responsibility of supervising a large family and managing it in a best way. Talakhan faced a difficult situation at the time because of sheikh Latif’s death. He contacted Mullah Mustafa Barzani through a family of Mr. Hamai Abdulrhaman agha and went to meet him.
My dear mother, Ms. Shno Sheikh Latif, told me: “When my mother through Mr. Hama Awrahman Agha’s family contacted Mr. Mullah Mustafa Barzani,. Barzani asked us to meet him tomorrow.” We went to Mr. Idris Barzani’s house in Rayat village. When we went to Mr. Idris’s house, Mullah Mustafa Barzani was in the cave in the mountains to protect him from Iraqi government bombardment. We met him.
Talakhan, after a long struggle with the disease on the evening of January 17, 2016 passed away and her memories will always remain alive.
