An Australian senator wore a burqa to protest one — and was suspended for it
Pauline Hanson wore a burqa into the Senate chamber after being refused leave to introduce a face-covering ban bill. The Senate suspended her for seven sitting days, condemning the act as vilifying Muslim Australians.
Australia has no ban on the face veil. What it had, on 24 November 2025, was a senator wearing one as a protest for one — inside the chamber that would have to pass it.
What happened
One-Nation leader Pauline Hanson sought leave to introduce a bill banning full-face coverings in public. The Senate refused her leave. She then put on a burqa and wore it into the chamber, reportedly refusing to leave the room or remove it when asked.
The Senate voted 55 to five to censure her and suspend her for seven sitting days, condemning the act as "intended to vilify and mock people on the basis of their religion" and "disrespectful to Muslim Australians." Her suspension carried over when parliament resumed the following February, since the Senate's sitting year had already ended.
It was not her first time. Hanson wore a burqa into the Senate once before, in 2017, a similar protest that went unpunished at the time.
Why this belongs next to the ban notes
Every other note in this section is about a law that passed or is advancing. This one is about a law that was refused a hearing, staged as a costume instead, and the response was aimed at the manner of the protest, not its substance. The Senate's condemnation was about vilifying a religious group by wearing their garment as a prop, not a ruling on whether a ban itself would be appropriate. Whether Australia debates a ban through ordinary process remains open.
Sources. ABC News · PBS NewsHour · CBS News