Why you should support ban of full-face coverings: Hanson

I am not alone in understanding that full-face coverings are objects of oppression, symbols of extremism and present an obvious security threat to our nation.

Pauline Hanson wearing a burqa while a bemused George Brandis looks on

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

WHY you should support a public ban of full-face coverings:

The recent reachTEL poll showing wide support for the banning of the burqa would have been a wake-up call for many politicians in Canberra, proving what was already obvious to myself and many other Australians.

It proved that I am not alone in understanding that full-face coverings, like the burqa and the niqab, are objects of oppression, symbols of extremism and present an obvious security threat to our nation. This is why they should be banned in public.

Predictably, as I sought to raise awareness of this issue on behalf of all those in Australia who feel constrained by political correctness and unrepresented on the floor of parliament, my opponents have already sought to blame me for crimes, both current and future, committed by individuals using full face covering.

This is a disgusting political game.

RELATED: Pauline Hanson wears burqa in parliament

Are those talking about domestic violence to raise awareness accused of encouraging it?

No and those who have accused me of encouraging crimes, even future acts of terrorism, still owe me an apology.

This is what I am talking about when I say many Australians feel that they have been silenced.

Criticism is not violence, words are not violence.

Any act of violence in response to my peaceful words and actions rests solely on the head of the perpetrator.

Following my appearance wearing the burqa I delivered a speech in parliament and spoke about the barrier to social cohesion, and relationship formation necessary for a harmonious community, that full-face coverings in public inflict on the wearer.

What's more, as many Islamic scholars have pointed out, and as I have repeatedly stated, the burqa is not a religious requirement of Islam but has come to be a symbol of fundamental Islam and extremism.

Given the significant cost of the forthcoming plebiscite on same-sex marriage, the government should take the opportunity to add the question about full-face covering in public.

I, like millions of others, want to be able to have the much needed debate on the future direction of Australia without being called racist.

PAULINE HANSON, Senator for Queensland