Here it is bluntly: Anyone in this free democratic country of Canada that supports the wearing of the niqab is a traitor to the cause of equality of women.  Here's why.  The niqab/burka is the most powerful symbol of the           fundamentalist wing of Islam, probably the most women-repressive religion/culture in the history of the world.  A couple of analogies.  If, at an N.A.A.C.P. gathering, I walked in to participate wearing the white KKK cloak and pointed hat, is that OK?  Or I wore a Nazi SS officer's uniform to a synagogue, is that fine?  No you would say, rightly so.  But I could reply, its just cloth, it can't hurt anybody, and I can wear what I like.  When we think about it, we all know those two examples are prime SYMBOLS of horrific treatment of human beings.  The niqab/burka are precisely the same.  By supporting the wearing of them, you give credibility to and infer support of the horrific treatment of women by fundamentalist Islam.