Estifanos was born in 1983 in Arareb, in the former province of Sahel (now part of the Northern Red Sea Region). She is the daughter of Estifanos Derar and Negesti Wolde-Mariam, both of whom were Eritrean People's Liberation Front militants. Estifanos attended high school in Asmara.[1] She described herself as a studious and quiet child, eager to get high marks in school.