The thing is this none of this is new.
The niqab (though it wasn't called that then, but I cannot remember what the word was) was banned in the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century due to security concerns. So this is the largest Sunni Muslim empire in history banning face veils not that long ago (ie. in my grandmother's day).
What is fascinating is the evolution of the thick face veil (as opposed to the gossamer face veil) and the arguments about its history. For example, the Iranians seem to generally be under the impression it is originally Jewish. Then there's arguments that it is originally Greek.
But what I suspect is the case is that the current incarnation of the niqab is a merging of the bedouin cultural practice of covering the nose and the lower face (the veil secured by a chain around the head)
but not the hair (which makes utter sense in terms of the climate and sun exposure) and the Islamic hijab/hairscarf... which makes it very interesting in terms of an Arab cultural mashup that's been formed from practicality smashing against religion, and then adopted as a sign of a kind of Sunni Islamic puritanism.
Interestingly, and as a counterpoint to the Arab bedouin perspective, facial coverings for females in the Middle East, North Africa and Spain are historically associated with upper class women so you've got that playing into it as well.
And the whole thing kinda defeats the object anyway. Look at what happened in Afghanistan when the Taliban enforced the burqua? Men just constantly bumped into women on the street to cop a feel. And the mental health rates of women plummeted through the floor and the rates of osteoporosis shot through the roof.