Officially recorded in the Islamic Penal Code in 1983, Article 638 of the Islamic Dress Code states: "Women who appear in public without a proper hijab should be imprisoned for ten days to two months or pay a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 Ryal.” <br><br>Prior to the existence of this dress code, Iranian women were able to live their daily lives sans hijab under the Pahlavi dynasty. On 9 March 1979, the day after the penal code was enacted, 15,000 Iranian women, ranging from young girls to old women, marched in protest shouting "Down with Khomeini." They walked without hijabs and coats, refusing the impending laws they would eventually have to follow. <br><br>The protest failed to persuade Ayatollah Khomeini to acknowledge the grievances of these women. Instead, restrictions on women's freedoms were tightened and Iranian women lost many existing freedoms including the right to abortion, coeducation and the power to initiate divorce. <br><br>Shortly after, the morality police, or <em>"Gasht-e Ershad"</em> was formed. The main goal of the morality police, an extension of the Basij militia, was, and still is, to enforce the Islamic dress code and fine or imprison females who fail to comply. This applies, but is not confined to, women with facial makeup, hair on display, inappropriate coat and trouser lengths. <br><br>Tens of thousands of women have been harassed or imprisoned by the morality police in Iran since its establishment in 1979.<br>