Australian senator wears burqa after move to block her face-covering ban bill

Australia’s Parliament descended into turmoil Monday aft right-wing populist Sen. Pauline Hanson entered the enclosure wearing a burqa, triggering outrage from Muslim lawmakers and forcing proceedings to beryllium suspended.

Hanson arrived successful the full-face covering soon aft being denied support to present her measure seeking to prohibition burqas and different look coverings successful public. The determination prompted shouting crossed the enclosure arsenic senators demanded she region the garment. Senate leaders yet halted the league erstwhile she refused to bash so.

Leaders from some large parties condemned the stunt. Labor Senate person and Foreign Minister Penny Wong described Hanson’s show arsenic "not worthy of a subordinate of the Australian Senate," according to Reuters, and moved to suspend her aft she refused to comply with instructions to region the covering. Opposition Deputy Senate Leader Anne Ruston besides criticized the act.

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One Nation person Pauline Hanson wears a burqa successful the Senate enclosure astatine Parliament House successful Canberra, Australia, Nov. 24, 2025. AAP/Mick Tsikas via Reuters  (AAP/Mick Tsikas via REUTERS )

Two moslem senators condemned Hanson's actions. Green enactment Sen. Mehreen Faruqi denounced the move. "This is simply a racist senator, displaying blatant racism." Independent Sen. Fatima Payman likewise denounced the enactment arsenic "disgraceful" and "shame".

The incidental marked the 2nd clip Hanson has worn a burqa wrong Parliament. The 71-year-old legislator archetypal did truthful successful 2017 arsenic portion of her longtime run against Islamic dress. Hanson has spent decades opposing migration from Asia and criticizing Australia’s multicultural policies, positions that helped motorboat her governmental vocation successful the 1990s.

Her One Nation enactment presently holds 4 seats successful the legislature aft gaining 2 successful May’s nationalist election, reflecting a emergence successful anti-immigration sentiment, according to Reuters.

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One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson wears a burqa successful the Senate enclosure astatine Parliament House successful Canberra, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas via Reuters.)

Following the uproar, Hanson released a connection connected her verified Facebook page. She wrote: "Today I wore a burqa into the Senate aft One Nation's measure to prohibition the burqa and look coverings successful nationalist was blocked from adjacent being introduced. The accustomed hypocrites had an implicit freak out. The information is much than 20 countries astir the satellite person banned the burqa due to the fact that they admit it arsenic a instrumentality that oppresses women, poses a nationalist information risk, encourages extremist Islam and threatens societal cohesion. If these hypocrites don't privation maine to deterioration a burqa, they tin ever enactment my ban."

Her connection continued, "So if Parliament won't prohibition it, I volition show this oppressive, radical, nonreligious caput garb that risks our nationalist information and the sick attraction of women connected the level of our Parliament truthful that each Australian knows what's astatine stake. If they don't privation maine wearing it, prohibition the burqa."

France and 21 different countries, including Tunisia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Portugal, person already implemented burqa bans.

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Senator Pauline Hanson removes a burqa she wore during question clip successful the Senate enclosure astatine Parliament House successful Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Hanson repeated her protestation for a 2nd clip connected Monday, Nov 24, 2025. (Jed Cooper/Australian Broadcasting Corp. via AP)

Hanson near Parliament aft losing her spot successful 1998 and resigned arsenic person of One Nation successful 2002. She was jailed successful 2003 connected electoral fraud charges, though the condemnation was aboriginal overturned. 

In 2010, she dropped plans to determination to the United Kingdom, saying it was "overrun with immigrants and refugees." She returned to pb One Nation successful 2014 and won predetermination to the Senate successful 2016. She utilized her archetypal code to pass that "Australia was successful information of being swamped by Muslims."

Reuters contributed to this report.