Jamal was born in the Arsi Zone in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, an area famous for distance runners, including Haile Gebreselassie, Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba.
Born in Bekoji in Ethiopia's Oromia Region, she comes from a town renowned for producing world class runners such as Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba.