It's not a coincidence that the niqab is common (without exception) in countries highlighted by misogyny and authoritarianism. The niqab is representative of a regressive belief system that demands absolute submission from women under the guise of pious obligation. Ideas of "modesty" are insulting in a country where men and women are treated as equals. Most women in Canada don't cover their faces, they are comfortable shaking hands with someone of the opposite sex, and they aren't concerned with provoking sexual advances with uncovered hair - this isn't a function of cultural relativism, it's a function of progress. Europe's laissez-faire approach to assertive political Islam has led to cultural segregation and societal division where so called "no go" zones are a depressing reality.