Australia’s Senate was suspended Monday after Senator Pauline Hanson appeared on the chamber floor wearing a burqa to protest the blocking of her proposed legislation.
Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, donned the traditional full-body Islamic garment to highlight what she called Senate hypocrisy after lawmakers prevented her bill banning burqas and other face coverings in public from reaching the floor for debate, according to a statement she posted on X. (RELATED: Democrat Congressional Candidate Screams Hysterically As She Gets Booted From Legislature Session)
“The usual hypocrites had an absolute freak out,” Hanson wrote. “The fact is more than 20 countries around the world have banned the burqa because they recognise it as a tool that oppresses women, poses a national security risk, encourages radical Islam and threatens social cohesion.”
Today I wore a burqa into the Senate after One Nation’s bill to ban the burqa 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… pic.twitter.com/8ZZ0Sin1hG
— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) November 24, 2025
“If these hypocrites don’t want me to wear a burqa, they can always support my ban,” she added.
Following the Senate’s rejection of her bill, Hanson said she left the chamber, retrieved the burqa, and returned wearing it to the visible dismay of fellow senators.
“This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism and Islamophobia,” Australia Green party senator Mehreen Faruqi — a Pakistani-born Muslim — said in response to Hanson’s demonstration, according to Sky News Australia.
Today I wore a burqa into the Senate after One Nation’s bill to ban the burqa 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… pic.twitter.com/8ZZ0Sin1hG
— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) November 24, 2025
While wearing a hijab, Senator Fatima Payman accused Hanson of discriminating against Muslim Australians and characterized her wearing of the burqa as “unconstitutional,” the outlet reported.
“We represent in our states people of every faith, of every faith, of all backgrounds. And we should do so decently,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who also serves as the leader of the government in the Senate, according to the BBC. Wong added that Hanson “not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate” and motioned to suspend her for failing to remove the garment.
Following the condemnation, the session was suspended and Hanson was barred from speaking until she left the Senate floor.
Appearing on The Bolt Report, Hanson argued that the practice of wearing the burqa often restricts women’s rights, claiming many women are forced to wear the garment against their will in a practice she said contradicts Australian culture and values.
Hanson went on to say the burqa is not a religious requirement but was introduced only a few hundred years ago as a means of controlling women. She said she supports women immigrating from such countries and emphasized the importance of allowing them to assimilate into Australian culture.
Hanson had previously worn a burqa to Parliament in 2017 in support of a similar ban at the time, according to the BBC.
