So you thought it was difficult to find the names of your Irish female ancestors? Be glad you're not doing Afghan research. A New York Times article by Mujib Mashal, reprinted in today's StarTribune, reports on the "deep-rooted taboo that prevents men from mentioning their female relatives' names in public" and the social media campaign to change the custom. The last paragraph of the article quotes a member of a provincial Afghan council who says women have been systematically erased throughout history, "The child comes out of the mother's womb, but in no document relating to the child - from infancy to old age - does the mother's name get registered." The article can be read in its entirety here:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/world/asia/afghanistan-womens-rights-whereismyname.html.