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Australia: MP entered the House wearing burqa, created ruckus
Sydney. Australia’s far-right senator Pauline Hanson caused an uproar in the upper house on Monday when she entered Parliament wearing a burqa. There is an uproar here about what he did. The MP has demanded a ban on clothes covering the entire face in public places. Hanson came to the chamber after she was not allowed to introduce a bill to ban burqas and other full-face coverings.
When Hanson came inside wearing a black burqa, people sitting in the Senate became angry, and then she was asked to remove the burqa. When he refused, the proceedings of Parliament were stopped. New South Wales senator Mehreen Farooqui said, “This is a racist senator who is openly showing racism.” Western Australia’s independent MP Fatima Pyman also condemned the act, calling it “shameful”.
Government Senate Leader Penny Wong and opposition Deputy Senate Leader Anne Ruston both criticized Hanson. Wong said the move was “unbecoming of a member of the Australian Senate,” and proposed suspending Hanson for refusing to remove her clothing. When Hanson refused to leave, the session was suspended.
Hanson, a Queensland representative, became famous in the 1990s with her strong anti-immigration views and opposition to asylum seekers. She has repeatedly campaigned against Islamic dress during her tenure as an MP and earlier in 2017 had worn a burqa in Parliament demanding a national ban.
His ‘One Nation Party’ has four seats in the Senate; He won two seats in the May general election amid growing support for his right-wing, anti-immigration policies. In a statement later posted on Facebook, Hanson said she wore the outfit in protest of the Senate’s refusal to consider her bill. He wrote that if they don’t want me to wear it, then they should ban the burqa.
