Australia's Parliament House has brought in new rules that will see people with "facial coverings" made to sit behind glass to view proceedings.
The "security modifications" were made on Thursday amid a debate over the burqa in Australia.
People who wear facial coverings into parliament will only be allowed to sit in the glass enclosed galleries.
The new rule says that to watch parliament, people with "facial coverings" will now sit in enclosed galleries where schoolchildren watch behind glass and under guard.
"This will ensure that persons with facial coverings can continue to enter the Chamber galleries, without needing to be identifiable," the department for parliamentary services said.
A spokeswoman for Parliament House told BuzzFeed News that both women wearing burqas and niqabs would likely be targeted by the new rules, but "it's not religious, it's about any veil".
The Senate President & Parliamentary Speaker say they've issued the new security rules re: facial coverings after getting security advice
Tension over banning the burqa in parliament increased when prime minister Tony Abbott said he was "uncomfortable" by the burqa and that he wished it was not worn in Australia.
The newly appointed Australian federal police commissioner, Andrew Colvin, said he would not be drawn into a debate about banning of the burqa, but that state policing legislation gave officers around the country enough powers to legally identify niqab and burqa wearers.
Government MP Cory Bernardi wholeheartedly endorsed the move.
“I'm only interested in the security of Parliament House” @corybernardi on new security rules in Canberra http://t.co/FWhZbibkW7 #auspol
However, there was also an immediate backlash.
What is most striking about the burqa in Parliament debate is how we have **exactly zero** muslim women in Parliament. #auspol
You can't sit here #teamaustralia
I wonder if beards fall into the category of "facial coverage".
Am I to understand that there is going to be a burqa box now?
Get ready ladies because if you’re a Muslim, there’s not just a glass ceiling, you get a whole box!
Greens leader Christine Milne labelled the decision "disgraceful".
Just found out Muslim women wearing facial coverings are to be relegated to part of parliament reserved for rowdy school kids. Disgraceful
One of her Greens colleagues said it risked "Muslim apartheid".
Greens Senator @RichardDiNatale on the DPS ruling dealing with burqas: "We're at risk of creating some form of Muslim apartheid right now."
Australia's human rights commissioner disagreed with the decision.
No justification for undermining religious freedom in new DPS measures when ppl have gone thru security checkpoints: http://t.co/VVBzVot96l
Australia's race discrimination commissioner also condemned the move.
No one should be treated like a second-class citizen, not least in their own parliament
Independent former MP Rob Oakeshott saw the contradiction in the decision.
PM wishes burqa wasn't worn in Australia b/c he thinks it lessons the status of women. The fix? Make the women sit up the back behind glass.