[1] Dr. Jalal emerged as a leading voice of Afghan women after her election as the Representative to the 2002 Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) as she became one of the frontrunners for the position of Interim President of Afghanistan, opposite to ex-president Hamid Karzai.

Born to a middle-class family in Kapisa Province of Afghanistan, one of seven children, Jalal moved to Kabul to attend high school.

After her removal from the Kabul Medical University's faculty, she worked as a National Senior Program Officer and Head of Women's Department for United Nations-World Food Programme (UN-WFP), Consultant to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Senior Program Officer for the United Nation's Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

By running as presidential candidate, she had already set the benchmark on the highest level of position in which Afghan women should be allowed to compete.

[13] Dr Massouda Jalal run again for the Office of the President of Afghanistan as the only woman candidate in the 2004 Afghan presidential election.

During one of her official trips to the Takhar province of Afghanistan, her convoy was targeted and bombed, leaving two of her guards severely injured.

[19] Although she ultimately lost the election to ex-president Hamid Karzai, her courageous campaign opened the door for over 550 women to run for Parliament just a few months later.

In 2010, gunmen attacked two Jalal Foundation women's rights activists in Helmand when they were on an official trip, killing one and putting the other in a coma.

[26][27] This resulted in several attacks on her and her family members, including her house and office were bombed by the enemies of peace and democracy.

She has received the following awards: She is the author of several publications,[33][22] the latest of which is a book entitled “Hanging by the Thread: Afghan Women’s Rights and Security Threats”, an articulation of her perspectives in the country's peace and political processes.