Barat Shakinskaya was born in Shusha into a bey family. Her mother Aghja (née Hajiyeva) was the niece of Azerbaijani writer and dramatist Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev.

Her father hailed from the khans of Karabakh on his mother's side and from the khans of Shaki on his father's side. The name Barat means 'God-given', a name chosen by her grandmother Govhar, as Barat was the first surviving child in the family following three her still-born siblings. Later Habib and Aghja Shakinskis became parents to two more children, Suleyman and Sariyya.