Regret my burka protest? Hell no! JENNY JOHNSTON speaks to Pauline Hanson, the Aussie politician who wore Islamic garment in parliament after being denied a debate on banning it

What a beautiful view. No wonder it went viral. A woman in a burqa walks through the parliament hall with her face and body completely hidden, but her legs and high heels are quite on display.

The faces his political colleagues can see say it all: What’s going on? The proud and unapologetic owner of the legs and burqa (bought online, she said. ‘Can you imagine going to a store?’) is Senator Pauline Hanson, founder and leader of Australia’s right-wing populist One Nation party.

Think of him as Nigel Farage; but in a dress, with all the panache and footwork that comes with making the final of the Australian version of Strictly Come Dancing.

This week, the 71-year-old grandmother of five caused uproar when she objected to the refusal to allow the introduction of a bill banning full-face coverings such as burqas and niqabs from being worn in public, arguing that she had every right to wear them as there was no dress code in parliament, and walked out of the Senate only to return in her own black burqa.

The demonstration caused uproar. The Senate was suspended for an hour and a half.

Condemnation came swiftly; Colleagues outside party lines described this ‘demonstration’ as racist, disrespectful and a mockery of the faith. Senator Hanson was accused of defaming Islam and inciting prejudice. He was suspended from the Senate for seven days, and a motion to punish him passed 55-5, one of the strongest rebukes in decades.

It wasn’t the first time he faced serious accusations of racism. In 2022, he was reprimanded by the Senate after telling fellow senator Mehreen Faruqi to ‘pack your bags and go back to Pakistan’ on social media. In 2024, a court found Hanson legally liable for racial discrimination; A judge ruled that his comment breached the Racial Discrimination Act because it was likely to ‘offend, insult, degrade or intimidate’ on the basis of race or national origin.

Does he care about the outrage he’s created this week? Absolutely not. ‘Have you seen my Facebook page?’ he asks defiantly during our Zoom interview.

She caused uproar when she marched into the Senate wearing a black burqa and high heels to protest against not allowing the introduction of a bill banning them

‘I don’t know if you are aware, but I have the most followers of all politicians on social media.’ [in Australia]. I have 200 thousand more followers than the Prime Minister.

‘That’s why I had people attending my party. Ordinary people are behind me. There were people coming up to me and hugging me. 20 years ago, people who disagreed with me would come up and say, “You were right, the things you warned us about happened.” ‘

The woman who loves to create outrage – ‘I am the woman who will say the unsayable,’ she says – is angry that her protest is seen as a demonstration.

‘This wasn’t a show. A show is designed to show off. This was to highlight the hypocrisy. I was like: “You don’t want to discuss banning the burqa, but then you yell at me to take it off? You can’t have it both ways.” ‘

It’s certainly a provocative way to spark debate on a topic that’s already a global problem.

23 countries around the world have banned the burqa to some extent. In 2010, France passed a law banning facial coverings in public places; However, there are also restrictions in Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Even in many Muslim-majority countries, there are restrictions, often due to security or administrative concerns.

Why isn’t it even discussed in Australia? ‘It’s political correctness and wokeness that means you can’t just tell it like it is,’ he says. His argument is simple. Wearing a burqa is ‘not a religious obligation’ and is ultimately divisive. It causes security and administrative problems. ‘Why do you have to take off your helmet to enter the bank? . ?’.

Hanson suspended from Senate for seven days over Senate burqa-wearing demonstration

But its key point today is that it is fundamentally anti-woman.

‘I also did it to prove that women are oppressed by men who force them to wear this. Women’s rights are being taken away. ‘Everyone here – the Greens, the Labor Party – is screaming for women’s rights, domestic violence, equal pay, pensions and all these issues, but they still don’t stand up to women being forced to wear burqas by men.’

How did a female politician whose career was built on an anti-immigration message find a burqa handy? Hanson explains that he placed an online order with a staff member eight years ago, just before he staged a similar parliamentary protest. This was planned. ‘I wore black trousers underneath.’

This caused a similar reaction, but the burqa was later removed into a wardrobe in her office.

He saw red and black when his proposed bill was blocked this week. ‘I’m having these moments, an epiphany, and it just hit me: ‘I’m going to wear that.’ ‘Because it wasn’t planned, I only had my daily clothes on.’

Frankly, he looked almost comical as he stumbled across the room, but what did it feel like there? ‘This is terrible. It’s truly terrible. I was having a hard time seeing where I was going. It’s just like this façade you’re behind, completely hidden. ‘No one can see your facial expressions.’

He couldn’t see the terror on his colleagues’ faces either, but he didn’t care because there was no love lost there.

‘In Australia, everyone should be treated the same, regardless of race. It’s pretty unheard of to stop a senator from moving a private member’s bill, but they stopped it because they didn’t like me. They don’t like my politics. I don’t particularly like them either. But shutting me down is not democratic. ‘This doesn’t give people a say.’

Senator Hanson photographed outside Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday

Always a fearless woman says there is no battle axe. The woman, who has been married twice and has two children from each marriage, claims today that she was subjected to domestic violence in her second marriage. ‘I wasn’t the person I am today,’ he states.

Today he takes no prisoners. His political stance brought death threats in the early days. Her daughter Lee also received death threats when she was 13, and they were taken seriously enough that Lee had to hide from the family home for a time.

He founded Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party in 1997. This was very much a one-woman show. He laid out his products: anti-immigration, skepticism of multiculturalism, advocacy for what he called ‘ordinary Australians’, and a traditional Australia rooted in Anglo-Celtic history.

He also has English roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated from London and Wiltshire; his maternal grandparents were born in Ireland.

One Nation used to be a minor part of a party, and still is to some extent, but its influence is growing. It doubled its representation in the Senate in the 2025 election and now has four seats, putting it on par with some traditional smaller parties. Polls have noted a recent surge attributed to voters’ frustration on issues such as immigration and net zero. So there is a parallel here with the Reform Party. And yes, Hanson knows Nigel Farage.

‘I met Nigel when he came here and we recently had dinner at an event in America.’

Are you satisfied with the comparison? ‘Why shouldn’t I? I’m not ashamed of it. They also call me Australia’s Trump. ‘We are on the same lines, on the same page.’

However, he still stands behind the idea and sentiment that the immigration problem is ‘worse’ in the UK. ‘You’re in a bad situation in the UK, it really is,’ he says. ‘We are only about five years behind you. What happens to your flags and the placement of your refugees in hotels paid for by the state? The same thing is happening here and Australians are fed up with it; ‘From losing your country.’

Hanson was suspended from office while campaigning for the passage of a bill banning Islamic dress

We’re starting to talk a lot about feminism. Some internet trolls said she looked better in a burqa. Is he uncomfortable? ‘NO. I don’t care what the ratbags say.’ Does she always wear heels? Is this a matter of power? ‘No, I like to look smart and why would I finish it with flats? ‘I like to dress up.’ Some people roll their eyes when I tell them that high heels are a symbol of patriarchy, a man’s idea of ​​what a woman should wear.

‘I don’t please anyone but myself,’ he says. But can’t you understand that some women say the same thing about wearing a burqa? Their bodies; Is it their choice?

‘Good morning my baby. Go and find yourself a country where you will be very comfortable with the laws and everything that goes on in that country. ‘Australia is a country about assimilation, not transformation,’ he says.

One of her political heroes was Margaret Thatcher, who didn’t really care what people thought of her. ‘I have great respect for him and a lot of the things he tried to do. And she was a strong woman. ‘People want leaders of faith.’ His critics say Hanson is unimportant even in Australia, but his latest ‘show’ has made him and his message hard to ignore.

It reminded me that the message is not new. ‘I’ve been saying the same thing for 20 years.

‘What’s heartening is that people who used to oppose me are now coming up to me and saying, ‘You were right.’