Australia drops plan to isolate burqa wearers in Parliament


Australian lawmakers have backed down from a plan to make Muslim women wearing burqas or niquabs — traditional garments that conceal the face — sit behind protective glass screens when viewing proceedings in Parliament. Senate leaders had said the measure was "prudent," but Muslim leaders, human rights activists, and opposition politicians said the restriction would needlessly alienate Muslims. The government said Monday that it would instead require women to temporarily remove head coverings during security screening. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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