Pauline Hanson wore a burqa into Parliament

yesterday. 
It was a stupid, idiotic, crass thing to do. The reaction was almost as stupid.
It would have been wiser to completely ignore the stunt. It would certainly have been better if the media had not given it any oxygen at all. 
There are very few women who wear the burqa in my city. It is probably not worn by many anywhere else in the country. It is a ridiculous garment. There is no religious requirement to wear it. In some Muslim countries it is actually against local law to wear it. In countries where it is much more common women have few, if any, rights. 
The hijab - the scarf which covers the head - is seen differently by many women. Most Muslim women will cover their heads and some will not show their hair at all. 
I can remember going to the tiny "flat" of a Muslim friend at university. She had invited me and a Chinese friend - the mother of my godchildren - home for a meal.  As we all walked in she pulled off her hijab and tossed it onto a chair, shook her head and ran her hands through her thick black hair. No, she didn't wear it in the privacy of her own home. Why should she? 
    "I wouldn't bother here," she told me much later, "But it's what my husband and my father expect."  
I didn't say anything but her words have stayed with me. I have wondered since whether she would have worn a burqa if that is what they had told her to do. My guess is that there might have been some debate about that. She was young. She wore jeans and t-shirts to lectures. 
I never discussed the issue with the other hijab wearing students although I taught them. They wore jeans and t-shirts too. 
I also taught several Muslim girls who wore no head covering at all - unless they were going to the mosque.  
We,  the non-hijab wearing girls and I, did discuss the burqa, more than once. Without exception they were opposed to the wearing of it, even in their own countries. Their view was that the women who wore it were doing things like "giving in" to their husbands and other males or "too afraid not to wear it" or "just not educated" and more. They saw no point in trying to ban it but they did believe most women did not wear it by choice. They believed women wore it because they believed that was what was expected of them...and yes, they wore the hijab for that reason as well as because it symbolised their faith.
Yesterday the Senators who are usually vociferous in their support of "women's rights" and "equality" chose to side with a "religious freedom" which does not actually exist. They chose to support a symbol of subjugation rather than ignore a stupid stunt. 
If a woman chooses to wear a burqa so be it but if she wears it out of fear or even because someone simply says she should then there is reason for concern. Choosing to do what Pauline Hanson did is going to encourage a minority of men to insist women should wear a burqa - and wear it for all the wrong reasons. She has done more harm than good.