Mastoureh Afshar was born in 1898 in Urmia, West Azerbaijan. She was the daughter of Majd al Saltaneh Afshar, an intellectual Iranian nationalist. Afshar was educated in Russia and spoke Persian, Azeri, Turkish and French. She had four siblings; her eldest brother was Jalal Afshar Orami, the father of persian entomology. Her sister Turan Afshar was also an entomologist whereas her other two sisters Alca and Heide were active politically as members of the Patriotic Women’s League alongside Mastoureh.