Pauline Hanson Wears Burqa in Senate Protest After Bill Rejection

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has sparked another political firestorm by wearing a burqa in the Australian Senate. The stunt came after her request to table a bill banning the religious garment was rejected. This marks the second time in her long career that Hanson has used the burqa as a form of protest, with her first controversial act occurring in 2017.

The backlash was swift, with Muslim parliamentarians condemning her actions. Senator Payman, one of Australia's few Muslim lawmakers, humorously remarked, "Did you just come from Afghanistan?" before expressing his disapproval. Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, the first female Muslim elected to the Upper House, was even more direct, calling Hanson's actions "racist" and "Islamophobic."

Hanson's stunt was also criticized by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who called the gesture disrespectful. Wong emphasized that members of the Senate should represent all Australians with dignity, regardless of personal views, and that such actions were unbecoming of a parliamentarian. Opposition frontbencher Anne Ruston echoed this sentiment, asserting that respect for others should always be a priority in the Senate.

Despite the criticism, Hanson stood by her protest. She later shared a photo of herself wearing the burqa in her office, calling out her colleagues as "hypocrites" for rejecting her bill. She argued that if they didn’t want her to wear the burqa, they should take legislative action to ban it.

In her post, Hanson pointed out that 24 countries worldwide have already banned the burqa, including several Muslim-majority nations like Tajikistan. She argued that such garments posed national security risks and contributed to the oppression of women. Hanson also noted that Afghanistan is the only country where the burqa is mandatory for women, following the Taliban's reimposition of strict dress codes in 2022.