New Delhi: A Muslim lawmaker in Australia, Fatima Payman has made an explosive allegation against a male colleague. She said on Wednesday that a male colleague allegedly urged her to drink wine and “dance on the table”, and she has filed a complaint to a parliamentary watchdog.
Senator Payman, a non-alcoholic, has made the allegations and claimed the older colleague made several inappropriate remarks after he drank too much at an official function. The 30-year-old Senator told national broadcaster ABC that the male colleague said, “Let’s get some wine into you and see you dance on the table.”
To which Payman replied that she is drawing a line and moved on to making a formal complaint. It is unclear when did the alleged incident take place or who the colleague was. Payman was born in Afghanistan, and is reportedly the first senator to wear a hijab inside Australia’s parliament.
In 2021, Brittany Higgins, a former political staffer levelled allegations that a colleague raped her inside a parliamentary office, which triggered country-wide protests. Later, a scathing review revealed that the country’s parliament was rife with sexual harassment, bullying and heavy drinking. In 2024, Independent Senator Payman split from the left-leaning Labor government after accusing it of failing to help Palestinians in Gaza.
