The Australian Senate plunged into disorder on Monday after conservative populist Senator Pauline Hanson entered the chamber wearing a burqa, provoking strong condemnation from Muslim legislators and necessitating a suspension of proceedings.
Hanson appeared in the full-face covering shortly after her request to introduce legislation aiming to prohibit burqas and other face coverings in public was denied. This action led to vocal protests across the chamber, with senators demanding the removal of the garment. Senate leaders ultimately halted the session when she declined to comply.
High-ranking officials from both major parties criticized the display. Labor Senate leader and Foreign Minister Penny Wong deemed Hanson’s actions as “unbecoming of a member of the Australian Senate,” according to Reuters, and sought to suspend her after she refused to adhere to instructions to take off the covering. Opposition Deputy Senate Leader Anne Ruston similarly denounced the incident.
Two Muslim senators condemned Hanson’s conduct. Green party Senator Mehreen Faruqi assailed the move, stating, “This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism.” Independent Senator Fatima Payman likewise labeled the act as “disgraceful” and “shameful.”
This marked the second instance of Hanson wearing a burqa within Parliament. The 71-year-old senator first did so in 2017 as part of her long-standing campaign against Islamic attire. Hanson has dedicated decades to opposing and criticizing Australia’s multicultural policies, stances that were instrumental in launching her political career in the 1990s.
Her One Nation party currently occupies four seats in the Senate, having gained two in May’s national election, which indicates a growing anti-immigration sentiment, as reported by Reuters.
Following the uproar, Hanson issued a statement. She wrote: “Today I wore a burqa into the Senate after One Nation’s bill to and face coverings in public was blocked from even being introduced. The usual hypocrites had an absolute freak out. The fact is more than 20 countries around the world have banned the burqa because they recognize it as a tool that oppresses women, poses a national security risk, encourages radical Islam and threatens social cohesion. If these hypocrites don’t want me to wear a burqa, they can always support my ban.”
Her statement continued, “So if Parliament won’t ban it, I will display this oppressive, radical, nonreligious head garb that risks our national security and the ill treatment of women on the floor of our Parliament so that every Australian knows what’s at stake. If they don’t want me wearing it, ban the burqa.”
France and 21 other nations, including Tunisia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Portugal, have already enacted burqa prohibitions.
Hanson departed Parliament after losing her seat in 1998 and resigned as leader of One Nation in 2002. She was incarcerated in 2003 on electoral fraud accusations, although the conviction was later reversed.
In 2010, she abandoned plans to move to the United Kingdom, asserting it was “overrun with immigrants and refugees.” She returned to lead One Nation in 2014 and secured election to the Senate in 2016. Her inaugural speech included a warning that “Australia was in danger of being swamped by Muslims.”
Reuters contributed to this report.