Australian lawmaker slammed for Islamophobic act inside senate

ISTANBUL

An Australian lawmaker was slammed on Monday for her Islamophobic behavior inside the senate, which led to the suspension of the senate for more than one and a half hours.

One Nation lawmaker Pauline Hanson entered the chamber wearing a burka and subsequently refused to leave, repeating the same act she did in 2017, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company.

Senator Hanson, who advocated for a nationwide ban on burkas and face coverings, was later penalized with a sanction that barred her from entering the chamber for the remainder of the day.

When she refused to vacate the Senate floor, a heated argument ensued, prompting the senate president, Sue Lines, to suspend the chamber’s proceedings for over 1.5 hours.

After her stunts, Hanson criticized her colleagues on social media as "hypocrites" for blocking her attempt to present her bill to ban burkas and face coverings.

In response to her behavior, Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Hanson’s actions, saying: “Whatever our own beliefs may be, the sort of disrespect you are engaging in now, is not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate and it should not be allowed to stand.”

Independent senator Fatima Payman, who is the first woman to wear a hijab in parliament, described the One Nation leader's act as "abhorrent and disrespectful to the chamber and the public."

"For her to wear the burka, walk in, and just not listen to the procedures or the ruling that was given before her is typical of her trying to stay relevant," she told ABC.

Later, Payman said on social media that Hanson’s actions are “disrespectful to our constitution, to our democracy and to our nation,” adding that her bill was “nothing more than an attempt to weaponize the growing fear and uncertainty that many Australians are facing, and then direct it towards an already marginalized group.”

Hanson's bill was also slammed by Australia's Islamophobia envoy Aftab Malik, who told the Sydney Morning Herald the move could worsen harassment, threats of rape and violence against Muslim women in Australia.

"It is frustrating to see Australian Muslim women's choice of clothing continually tied to national security concerns," Malik said, adding that "Islamophobia is at record levels in Australia.”

"Senator Pauline Hanson, eight years after her last call to ban the burqa, is again proposing it. This will deepen existing safety risks for Australian Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf, the hijab, or the full face and body covering, the burqa."

In 2017, during a similar push by One Nation to ban head coverings, she wore an item of clothing on the senate floor.