Australia’s Parliament has lifted a short-lived ban on facial coverings including burqas and niqabs after the prime minister intervened. The department that runs Parliament House had announced earlier this month that “persons with facial coverings” would no longer be allowed in the open public galleries. Instead, they were to be directed to galleries usually reserved for noisy schoolchildren where they could sit behind soundproof glass. The ban had been widely condemned as a segregation of Muslim women and a potential breach of anti-discrimination laws. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he wasn’t notified in advance and had asked House Speaker Bronwyn Bishop to rethink the ban. The restriction had been authorized by Bishop, who has campaigned for a ban on Muslim head scarves in schools, as well as Senate President Stephen Parry.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 08:23:07 +0000
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