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Politician Wears Burqa for Anti-Islam Stunt in the Australian Senate, Horrifies Colleagues


A right-wing politician in Australia is being condemned for wearing a burqa in the country’s Senate chamber as part of an anti-Islam stunt. Pauline Hanson, the leader of the One Nation party, wore the garment to the Senate on Thursday to call attention to her proposed ban on wearing burqas.

The move immediately drew sharp criticism from other political leaders. George Brandis, who leads the Senate, was adamant that there will be no burqa ban in the country. “Senator Hanson, I’m not going to pretend to ignore the stunt that you have tried to pull today by arriving in the chamber dressed in a burqa when we all know you are not an adherent of the Islamic faith,” he said. “I would caution you and counsel you, Senator Hanson, with respect, to be very very careful of the offense you may do to the religious sensibilities of other Australians.”

Another member of the Senate, Penny Wong, called out Hanson for insulting Islam and making a mockery of religious practice. “It is one thing to wear religious dress as a sincere act of faith and another to wear it here as a stunt in the Senate chamber,” she said.

According to The Guardian, Hanson seemed “visibly delighted with the commotion caused by her intervention” and left after she asked Brandis if Australia would ban the garment—a request he refused to allow.

Some countries have already passed laws that prevent women from wearing burqas in public. The German parliament passed a partial ban on burqas in April, and France became the first country to outlaw wearing burqas in public in 2011. Last summer saw conflict in France over burkini swimsuits, which cover more of the body than most suits but are completely unlike actual burqas. A French court suspended a ban on burkinis last August.

Hanson’s party is anti-immigration and anti-Muslim, and she has called for a Trump-style ban on Muslim’s entering Australia.



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