Mohammadzai was born in Kabul, Afghanistan around 1966. She joined the Army in 1983 after she graduated from secondary school, and volunteered to be a paratrooper. Succeeding at the strenuous training, including completing a march across the mountains in two days, she made her first jump in 1984. After earning her wings, she studied at the Kabul University legal faculty, graduating with a bachelor's degree, so she could be commissioned as an officer. She would later undertake advanced studies at a military academy in the Soviet Union. During the Soviet–Afghan War, she was denied combat positions, so she served as a paratroop instructor training soldiers for paratroop and commando roles.
