It works as it should for me:

use strict;

sub create {

    my $self = @_;
    my (%hash1,%hash2);

    my @vi = qw(\%hash1 \%hash2);

    return @vi;
}


my @array = create();

#i did the separation of variables on purpose ...
 
my $first = $array[0];
my $second = $array[1];
my %hashfirst = %$first;
my %hashsecond = %$second;

__END__

Can't use string ("\%hash1") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use 
+at tmp.pl line 20.
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This is because you're returning strings instead of references:

    my @vi = qw(\%hash1 \%hash2);
[download]

should be

    my @vi = (\%hash1, \%hash2);
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