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By Chaimae Boulifa
Rabat – Australian Senator Pauline Hanson’s decision to attend a question-and-answer session in Australian parliament while wearing a burqa has sparked indignation among opposing parties and Muslims, who have accused her of “mocking the Islamic faith.”
The leader of Australia’s far-right One Nation party wore a burqa to parliament “as part of her campaign to ban the all-enveloping garment worn by some Muslim women,” according to Reuters.
The senator removed the burqa after she had been covered about 20 minutes, which led to harsh criticism from the opposing parties and Muslims.
A video showed Hanson explaining her act by declaring, “I’m quite happy to remove this because this is not what should belong in this parliament.”
She added that “full face covering presented a clear security threat and had no place in modern Western society.”
The Australian Attorney-General, George Brandis, criticized Senator Hanson’s act for “causing offence to religious groups.”
“No, Senator Hanson, we will not ban the burka,” he asserted.
Brandis was giving a standing applause from opposition parties for his emotional speech stating that “to ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to mock its religious garments, is an appalling thing to do, and I would ask you reflect on what you have done.”
Senator Hanson, known for her vociferous opposition to immigration, has in recent years led a campaign against Islamic clothing and the construction of mosques.
In 2016, she gave a heavily criticised speech saying that Australia was being “swamped by Muslims.”
Since she was elected in 1996, the senator has repeatedly generated controversy for actions and statements seen as xenophobic.
