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Princess Sinnem Khan Badrkhan, Interview
Descendant of glory, the Kurdish memory on the Kurdish Press Day, on the occasion of the 127th anniversary of the publication of the newspaper "Kurdistan," the role of Kurdish women, and the contribution of the free Kurdish press in supporting just causes.
On April 22 of each year, the Kurdish people commemorate Kurdish Press Day, celebrating the anniversary of the publication of the first Kurdish newspaper named "Kurdistan" in 1898 in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, by the pioneer and intellectual from the Badrkhan family, Prince Mehmed Badrkhan.
I recall a meeting, or rather a cultural dialogue, which brought together the Kurdish-French collective memory. The discussion included topics related to the model and greatness of the Badrkhan family in Kurdistan, the home of Princess Sinnem Khan, which years ago stood out with its pure Kurdish essence as a cultural center and Kurdish heritage museum. On this day, the image of the Kurdish national woman, Princess Sinnem Khan Badrkhan, shines brightly, as we recount the past and present and the situation of Kurds in Rojava Kurdistan.
A dialogue took place between us in Erbil, where the heritage is rich, recounting the history of the struggles, and the long-standing Kurdish magazine "Hawar," which dates back to 1932. It invited me to one of the Kurdish heritage places, "Mishku Café," where we spoke French, discussing Francophonie and the noble family, the heirs of the ancient Badrkhan family, which continues today to carry on the Kurdish intellectual and cultural struggle from its position in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
This strong woman, Sinnem Khan, was born in Damascus, but her heart remained beating with love for Kurdistan, where she chose to be loyal, preserving and immortalizing the Badrkhan archives, thereby reviving the glories of her family in writing, politics, and cultural foundation. This journey is merely an extension of the legacy of the Botan Island, her ancestors who held the pen as much as they carried arms.
Among the most notable of these ancestors is Prince Sharif Khan al-Badlisi, who stated in the introduction to his book "Sharafnameh" in 1597:
"I wrote this book to be a mirror that reflects for future generations the history of the Kurdish princes and their heroism, for one who has no written history loses his name among nations."
These words perfectly apply to what Sinnem Khan is doing today: she writes to immortalize for future Kurdish generations, recounting and preserving in her memory, and she nourishes the Kurdish historical narrative so that the name of the immortal Badrkhan family does not fade amidst the rush of history.
As for Mehmed Badrkhan, the founder of the first Kurdish newspaper, he wrote in the editorial of the first issue of "Kurdistan":
"We wanted this newspaper to be a platform for the Kurdish language and an intellectual weapon against ignorance and oppression."
Today, Princess Sinnem Khan continues this role of struggle through her ongoing defense of culture and identity, believing that "the Kurdish pen must remain alive as the heartbeat of the Kurdish nation."
In a special interview with her, she spoke about the Kurdish woman writer, saying:
"From the very beginning, long ago, she fought with her pen, in various fields, alongside the Peshmerga and contributed to the liberation of Kurdistan. The Kurdish woman has managed to find an important place in Kurdish society alongside men in all arenas, and I say Kurdistan only because it belongs to everyone."
She emphasized that the continuity of Kurdish women writers and intellectuals lies in their awareness and commitment to their nation’s issues and to making Kurdish women and children the focus of their work, stating:
"The educated and literary woman must remain the voice of Kurdish women through creativity and the pen, which should never run dry."
This occasion cannot pass without mentioning the words of the late Prince Badrkhan Pasha, who called for the separation of religion from the state, saying once:
"Religion belongs to God, and the homeland belongs to everyone, and there can be no renaissance without a free thinking mind and a vibrant conscience that writes."
In conclusion, we must invoke the intellectual work, the cultural monument, the significant magazine "Hawar," which was published in several languages, with its everlasting Franco-Kurdish spirit bearing witness to the greatness of the ancient Badrkhan family and its rich heroic Kurdish legacy, as well as the texts translated into French with the French orientalist "Roger Lescot," particularly the writing of "Grammar of the Kurmanji Language."
Today, Sinnem Khan Badrkhan embodies these eternal and great words and deeds; she is an extension of the memory of the free Badrkhan family.
Anahit Hamou
