Australian senator condemned for wearing burqa in parliament

An Australian senator has sparked outrage for wearing a burqa after pushing for a ban on Muslim clothing in parliament.

Pauline Hanson has been condemned by other senators, with one accusing her of being “blatantly racist”. Senate proceedings were suspended when she refused to remove the item.

The Queensland senator from the anti-immigration One Nation party is seeking to introduce a bill to ban face coverings in public – a policy she has long advocated.

It was the second time she had worn the dress, which covered her face and body, in parliament and said her actions were a protest against the Senate’s rejection of her bill.

She returned wearing a black burqa shortly after other lawmakers blocked her from introducing the bill on Monday.

“This is a racist senator who displays blatant racism,” said Merlin Farooqi, a Muslim Greens senator from New South Wales.

Western Australia independent senator Fatima Perman called the move “disgraceful”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anthony Wong, who leads the government in the Senate, condemned the move as “disrespectful”.

“We represent people across our states, of all creeds, of all backgrounds. We should do so with dignity,” she said.

She added that Hanson “does not deserve to be a member of the Australian Senate” and moved a motion to suspend him for failing to remove his clothes.

“If they don’t want me to wear it – ban the burqa,” Hansen wrote in a Facebook post.

In 2017, she wore a burqa in parliament and called for a nationwide ban on the burqa.

2016, Hansen Criticized for maiden speech in Australian Senatein which she said the country was being “overrun by Muslims.”

This echoed her controversial 1996 speech in which she warned that the country was in danger of being “overwhelmed by Asians.”