Australian politician Pauline Hanson wore a burqa in Australia’s Senate this week to make a point against the Islamic covering for women and she caused a stink.
The leader of the One Nation party caused stirrings among other senators when she entered Parliament House wearing the full length Islamic garment on Thursday, the BBC News reported.
Footage of the Parliamentary session showed Hanson standing up and shrugging off the veil, saying she “was happy to remove this because it's not what should belong in this parliament."
Hanson has long been campaigning for against the burqa and this stunt comes ahead of her party’s bid to have the garment banned in Australia.
Speaking in Parliament, she addressed Attorney General George Brandis amid objections from other senators.
“In light of what is happening in national security, there have been 13 national threats against us with terrorism, three that have been successful and where Australians have lost their lives,” she said, as order was called for on the floor.
“Terrorism is a true threat to our country, many Australians are very much in fear of it,” she continued, adding that, on behalf of those people, she was asking Brandis if he would work to ban the burqa.
Brandis slammed Hanson for her stunt, stating the burqa would not be banned and cautioning her of offending the Australians adhering to Islamic faith.
In an emotional response he stated "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.”
Speaking to Sky News after the incident, Hanson said the burqa was considered confronting, adding that the majority of Australians did not want it in the country.
Elaborating on her stunt in parliament, she said she was proving a point about the risk of security, claiming terrorists could disguise their identity with the garment.