 Margret joined the ranks of Peshmerga fighting in the First Iraqi–Kurdish War at the age of 20 in 1960, and quickly asserted herself among her male comrades and was given a leading position by Mustafa Barzani in important battles such as the battle of Zawita Valley.Her non-Kurdish background allowed Shello to be accepted into the ranks of the Peshmerga, which at the time was unwelcoming to ethnically Kurdish women.Circumstances that led to her early death are still disputed.