DigitEye India Fact Checkers
Claim: Hijab has been banned in Switzerland and Islam is not recognized as a religion.
Conclusion: Misleading. While the first claim is partly true as covering face is banned, the second claim that Islam is not recognized is false.
Rating: Misleading — 
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A viral photo is being shared on social media showing two women standing in front of a wall poster of a woman wearing a veil with a caption that reads “Non Au Voile” or translated to English, it reads: “No To The Veil”. The claim says that the hijab has been banned in Switzerland after a referendum and that Islam is no longer recognised as a religion there. Another claim said, “”Switzerland has banned the burqa on its streets by referendum and refused to make Islam official as a religion.”
Switzerland bans hijab
Islam has been derecognised as an official religion in Switzerland through a referendum. pic.twitter.com/9HuE01JF3w
— Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala) July 16, 2024
Switzerland has banned the burqa on its streets by referendum and refused to make Islam official as a religion. pic.twitter.com/isFOZ2EVcx
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) May 12, 2024
FACT-CHECK
Digiteye India, after receiving a request to fact check on its WhatsApp Tipline, checked for the original image and its source on Google Reverse Image Search. The original image is from a feminist French group named ‘Collectif Nemesis‘, active in France and Switzerland, who oppose the hijab or veil. Both the women in the picture are the spokespersons of the group who can be seen here. Further search on their website reveals the original video where the same poster featuring the two women can be seen on Istagram.
Secondly, it was true that Switzerland has banned the niqab, a cloth covering face or burqas, a cloth covering the full body — via a referendum in 2021. However, there is no such specific law or Act to claim that Islam is not recognised as a religion in Switzerland. The government website on religion states that the freedom of religion is a fundamental right protected by the Federal Constitution. It clearly states that the country adheres to the freedom of religion.
Hence, the fact that Switzerland banned items that fully covered people’s faces in public is true, but the second claim is false.
