Sonia Bugajska

We’ve seen multiple videos online of government buildings being set on fire and thousands of young people protesting in the streets of Kathmandu. But what enraged young people, and what has been the aftermath of these large-scale protests?

Nepal has been experiencing an ongoing period of economic decline. Youth unemployment in the country, officially reported at more than 20 percent in 2022–23, is among the highest in South Asia. Young Nepalis, already frustrated with the lack of opportunities in their country, had to live under the rule of corrupt politicians K.P. Sharma Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Sher Bahadur. They were the three rotating prime ministers since 2015 who had faced many corruption and nepotism allegations. The turning point for the unrest was the social media ban on September 4, 2025. Nepal’s government suspended 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and X. This happened due to their failure to register within the seven-day deadline set by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The government reasoned it as a countermeasure for fake accounts, hate speech, misinformation, and cybercrime; however, what this really was, was a way to silence criticism of the government.

On 8 September, thousands of Gen Z protestors (as they called themselves) gathered in central Kathmandu near the Maitighar Mandala monument and the federal parliament. The protest started out peacefully, but it soon turned violent when the security barricades were breached. Many protestants wore school and universities uniforms and carried placards with messages „Shut down corruption, not social media” and „Youths against corruption.” They coordinated their protest locations on Tiktok, one of the few apps that wasn’t banned. On said app, the hashtag #NepoKids trended as videos of the politicians’ families drowning in luxury, who used public money to buy expensive cars and foreign travels, made rounds among the dissatisfied youth.

The protests spread quickly as protesters set fire to government buildings, police stations, and the residences of politicians. The homes of Oli, former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, and many more politicians were among those targeted, and Khanal’s wife suffered severe burn injuries. Late on Monday night, the social media ban was lifted to address Gen Z demands.

On Tuesday 9 September prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli published a letter that stated his resignation due to “the extraordinary situation” in the country. The same day the Nepalese army temporarily took over the authorities and imposed a curfew to maintain order in the country. Meanwhile the protesters held an online meeting on Discord (free social communication platform) and voted for their next prime minister. They have chosen Sushila Karki, the country’s former chief justice, known for her anti-corruption efforts. Karki was appointed as interim prime minister on September 12. She is the first female prime minister in Nepal. The aftermath of the demonstrations is at least 72 killed, 2,113 injured, and many buildings, including national monuments, burned. South Asia has recently been deemed unstable, with demonstrations in many other countries like Indonesia or Philippines taking place alongside those in Nepal, whose widespread media coverage is largely due to their brevity and intensity of the events, and the protesters’ victory. We can hope that Nepal with their new prime minister can rebuild itself and start a period of peace and opportunities for its people. As the fires die down, one question remains: should countries like the USA follow Nepal’s footsteps or would it only result in another Civil War?