Senate Adjourns After Burqa Protest by Senator Hanson
On Monday, Australia’s Senate was adjourned following a protest led by Senator Pauline Hanson, who appeared in the chamber wearing a burqa. The demonstration aimed to address the blocking of a bill that proposed banning burqas and other face coverings in public.
In a statement on X, Hanson, leader of the One Nation Party, criticized what she viewed as hypocrisy among MPs after the bill was not allowed to be brought forward. She highlighted that over 20 countries have already implemented bans on burqas, arguing that it’s a garment that oppresses women and poses risks to national security.
“The usual hypocrites were completely taken aback,” she expressed. “More than 20 countries around the world have banned the burqa, recognizing it as a tool that oppresses women, poses a national security risk, encourages Islamic extremism, and threatens social cohesion.”
Hanson pointedly remarked, “If you hypocrites don’t want me to wear a burqa, you can always support my ban.”
After the Senate dismissed his bill, she left, retrieved the burqa, and returned, which visibly unsettled some fellow senators. In reaction, Australian Greens senator Mehreen Faruqui—who is a Pakistani-born Muslim—described Hanson’s act as blatantly racist and islamophobic.
Senator Fatima Payman also condemned Hanson, asserting that her actions discriminated against Muslim Australians. She labeled the demonstration as “unconstitutional.” Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasized the need to represent all faiths and backgrounds with decency and labeled Hanson as “unfit to be a member of the Australian Senate,” seeking her suspension for the incident.
After the accusations surfaced, the meeting was suspended, and Hanson was not allowed to speak until she left the chamber. On a related note, Hanson discussed the burqa’s implications on women’s rights during an appearance on the Bolt Report, claiming that many women are compelled to wear it against their will, which contrasts with Australian cultural values.
She expressed support for women immigrating from countries where the burqa is common but stressed the importance of their assimilation into Australian culture. This wasn’t the first time Hanson wore a burqa in Parliament; she had done so in 2017 in support of a similar ban.
