MIA: what was she doing in that niqab?

Is it a delayed backlash against Liz Hurley's safety-pin dress? Was rapper MIA having a bad hair day? Whatever her reason for donning a niqab at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles, she wasn't telling. But with governments from France to Syria banning full veils, niqabs are this season's shock tactic of choice. Already this month two women calling themselves NiqaBitch have taken to the streets of Paris wearing face veils, but with bare legs and high heels. Still, there's no defence for MIA's sparkly green eyeshadow.