A video (here, here and here) has gone viral across social media platforms, depicting a police officer assaulting a woman wearing a hijab. The claim accompanying this video asserts that the woman was a victim of police violence in India due to her choice of attire, namely a hijab. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: A Muslim woman was attacked by an Indian police officer for wearing a hijab.
Fact: The video does not originate from India and is not related to wearing a hijab. It was recorded during a protest by factory workers in the Mongla EPZ, Bagerhat, Bangladesh. Therefore, the claim in the post is False.
A thorough investigation into this video was initiated by paying close attention to the details present in the footage. Firstly, the gate visible in the video bore the inscription ‘Mongla EPZ’. Secondly, one of the women featured in the footage was seen sporting a red apron with the logo ‘VIP’ and additional text.
Using this information, a keyword search was carried out revealing that the Mongla EPZ is an Export Processing Zone located in Mongla, a region in the Bagerhat District of Bangladesh.
The video shows police lathi charge against protesting factory workers (here, here, and here) at the VIP manufacturing plant in this area. The cause of this protest was reportedly (here and here) the unexpected layoff of workers.
Further examination of social media posts featuring the video or its screenshots, such as this one, this one, and this one, identifies the event as a protest held at the VIP factory within the Mongla EPZ. The red apron adorned with the ‘VIP’ print, worn by the woman in the viral video, is also visible in these posts.
This confirms that the video is not related to India and does not show any persecution based on religious attire. The video is instead an incident from Bangladesh, misrepresented with a false claim attributing a communal motive.
To sum up, the woman portrayed in the shared video was not a victim of police brutality in India for wearing a hijab.
