The new mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, won in large part because of her huge smile...

Would we vote for a candidate whose face we never saw? Would you go the a lawyer, doctor, counsellor, etc., and be content with talking to them from behind a screen?

Faces matter. That's precisely why islamists insist women's must not be seen. The niqab makes ISLAM very visible in public space, while making individual women ciphers. Precisely the objective.