In Afghanistan, which number is believed to be a badge of shame and linked with prostitution?

The curse of 39 is the belief, in some parts of Afghanistan, that the number 39 is cursed or a badge of shame as it is purportedly linked with prostitution.

The number 39 has somehow become lodged in the Afghan popular imagination as a sign of pimping and prostitution, but it has widely been claimed to have been associated with a pimp, allegedly living in the western city of Herat, who was nicknamed "39" after the registration plate of his expensive car and the number of his apartment. The number is said to translate into morda-gow, literally meaning "dead cow" but a well-known slang term for a pimp. Others have blamed corrupt police officials for spreading the rumour in order to charge between $200–$500 to change a "39" plate.

Officials have, in turn, blamed car dealers and "those who work for the mafia who started the rumors about 39 so they could buy cars with 39 plates cheaper and sell them back for higher prices after changing the plates", according to Abdul Qader Samoonwal of Kabul's Traffic and License Registration department. The problem is made worse by the fact that Afghanistan is a largely illiterate country in which rumors and superstitions thrive.