‘Disgraceful’: Australian Far-Right Senator Wears Burqa To Parliament, Sparking Outrage

SYDNEY, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Australian far-right Senator Pauline Hanson wore a burqa outside Parliament on Monday in political support for her push to ban Muslim clothing in public. The demonstration led to accusations of racism from Muslim senators.

Hanson wore the burqa shortly after she was refused permission to introduce a bill that would ban burqas and other face coverings in public places in Australia.

This is the second time Hanson has used the headscarf worn by some Muslim women in parliament to try to ban the wearing of burqas.

The Senate exploded with anger when she entered the chamber wearing a burqa, and the proceedings were suspended when Hanson refused to remove the burqa.

“This is a racist senator displaying blatant racism,” said Muslim Mehreen Faruqi, a Greens senator from New South Wales.

Muslim Fatima Payman, an independent senator from the state of Western Australia, described the demonstration as “shameful”.

Penny Wong, the leader of Australia’s centre-left Labor government in the Senate, and Anne Ruston, the Senate deputy leader of the opposition coalition, condemned Hanson’s actions.

Wong called them “unworthy of a member of the Australian Senate” and moved a motion to impeach Hanson for not removing the suit. Senate proceedings were suspended after Hanson refused to leave.

Hanson, a Queensland senator, first came to prominence in the 1990s for her staunch opposition to immigration and refugees from Asia, and has long campaigned against Islamic dress throughout her parliamentary career. She previously wore a burqa to parliament in 2017 and called for a national ban at the time. Hanson’s One Nation party holds four seats in the Senate and won two seats in the general election in May amid growing support for far-right anti-immigrant policies.

In a statement later posted on Facebook, Hanson said his actions were in protest of the Senate’s rejection of his proposed bill. “If Parliament does not ban this, I will expose this oppressive, radical, non-religious hijab and mistreatment of women that endangers our national security in our Parliament, so every Australian will know what is at stake,” Hanson said in a statement.

“If they don’t want me to wear it, ban the burqa.”

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)