Muslim Senator Files Complaint After Colleague Urged Her to Drink and Dance
According to Payman, the incident occurred when the male colleague, whom she did not name, appeared to be intoxicated and encouraged her to drink alcohol and dance.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC, she recalled the man saying: “Let’s get some wine into you and see you dance on the table.”
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Payman, a practicing Muslim who abstains from alcohol, said she made it clear the remarks were unacceptable. “I told this colleague, ‘Hey, I’m drawing a line mate’, and moved on to making a formal complaint,” she said in the interview.
Details about the time and setting of the incident have not been disclosed, and the identity of the accused colleague remains unknown.
Payman, who was born in Afghanistan, became the first Australian senator to wear a hijab in parliament. She entered politics as a member of the center-left Labor Party but left the party in 2024, citing the party’s silence against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.
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Her allegations come in the wake of broader concerns about workplace culture in Australia’s federal parliament.
In 2021, former political staffer Brittany Higgins publicly alleged she was sexually assaulted in a parliamentary office. The claim sparked widespread protests and led to an independent review, which identified widespread issues including bullying, harassment, and a culture of excessive drinking within the parliamentary environment, APF reported.
Source: Agencies
