Gen Z Revolution: How Social Media Ban and Nepotism Turned Nepal Into a Political Earthquake

Nepal recently witnessed its worst unrest in decades, when protests triggered by a government ban on social media platforms, which are used by more than half of its 30 million people, citing security and administrative reasons.

Although the Nepalese authorities later reversed their earlier decision, protesters, who were also protesting rampant corruption in the country, continued their demonstrations in the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, and other cities.

What Nepal witnessed was not just a fleeting protest; it represented a pivotal political moment, revealing a profound crisis of confidence in a country where the poor are accumulating debt as much as the political elite and their children are accumulating privileges.

Observers believe that the Nepalese authorities misjudged the power of social media platforms, failing to realize that an attempt to restrict them could spark a broader political explosion.

Access Now, a New York-based digital civil rights nonprofit, confirmed that Nepal was seeking to impose broad controls on content under the pretext of misinformation and hate speech, but the result was the exact opposite.

Gen Z Protests

On September 4, 2025, Nepal’s government issued a ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, and X, alleging that they did not comply with local registration laws. 

Young people interpreted the ban as a direct assault on freedom of expression and a restriction of their digital space.

A few weeks before the protests began, the hashtags #NepoBaby and #NepoKids began trending, highlighting the lavish lifestyles of the children of political leaders.

The ban is no longer technical; it is political, economic, and moral, affecting the dignity of an entire generation accustomed to living and breathing through social media, earning additional income from it, which has transformed it into a commercial platform.

The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the ban was a shock to a Gen Z, nearly half of whom grew up using social media, which had become a primary space for expression and communication, as well as a source of livelihood for some. This added political, economic, and moral ramifications to the crisis.

This coincided with local and international reports revealing a decline in trust in state institutions and a growing sense of inequality in a country where nearly a quarter of its economy depends on remittances from expatriate citizens.

On September 8, widespread popular protests erupted, with young people carrying slogans such as ‘End corruption, not the internet’ and ‘Gen Z against corruption’.

The sit-ins and digital denunciations quickly turned into confrontations on the ground, particularly in areas surrounding Parliament, where security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas.

Violence in Nepal escalated to unprecedented levels, with clashes between protesters and security forces resulting in approximately 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Protesters vandalized and burned numerous official buildings, including the parliament, the Supreme Court, and other government headquarters, reflecting the extent of popular anger against the ruling elite and symbols of power in the country.

The attacks were not limited to government buildings; they also targeted the homes of some senior politicians, forcing them to flee or go into hiding to protect themselves and their families.

This escalation in security prompted the Nepalese Army to impose a comprehensive curfew in the capital, Kathmandu, and deploy armed forces to protect vital facilities.

Amid escalating violence and protests in Kathmandu and other Nepalese cities, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli announced his resignation on September 9, acknowledging his government's inability to contain the crisis or calm the streets.

Despite these measures, protesters have maintained their presence in the streets, demanding comprehensive political reform, including combating corruption, strengthening judicial independence, expanding youth employment programs, and improving natural resource management.

Official reports recently announced that the death toll from the country's violent protests has risen to at least 72, with 191 others receiving treatment.

Political Change

In the same context, Nepal has witnessed an unprecedented experience in which technology played a crucial role in shaping the path to filling the vacuum facing the country, redrawing the boundaries of the relationship between tech and political leadership in the 21st century.

The Bluetooth-based BitChat messaging service has provided a censorship-resistant tool that enables protesters to communicate with each other even in the absence of internet access.

The popular digital chat platform Discord has also transformed into a virtual parliament. 

A server created by a civil society organization called Hami Nepal attracted more than 145,000 users in just four days, becoming a hub for open political discussion and decision-making.

As the crisis intensified, participants on the platform began voting on potential candidates to lead the transition. 

Several names emerged, but the consensus settled on Sushila Karki, 73, the former chief justice of the Supreme Court.

On September 12, Karki met with President Ram Chandra Poudel and Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel, where she was officially announced as prime minister, becoming the first woman to hold the position in Nepal's history.

Her interim government is scheduled to last until parliamentary elections on March 5, 2026.

Karki's appointment sparked widespread reactions, with many young people seeing it as a triumph for their will and for a new generation rejecting traditional political methods.

Analysts considered what happened in Nepal not just a temporary government change, but rather a sign that technology has the potential to transform the system of government and political decision-making radically.

Some saw it as a leap toward direct democracy through digital age tools, while others warned of the risks of chaos and the difficulty of controlling this type of popular protest.

Internationally, Nepal's Gen Z protests have sparked widespread debate about the potential for this phenomenon to spread to other countries, particularly those experiencing a surge in youth protest movements.

Rampant Corruption

Observers believe that Nepal's political unrest is not a sudden phenomenon, but rather the product of a deep-rooted crisis of confidence in the political system, built up over years of weak governments and instability.

14 governments representing three parties have taken turns at governing since 2008, when Nepal adopted a new constitution after abolishing its monarchy.

The continued rotation of power between three veteran politicians: KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has reinforced the feeling among the new generation that politics has become a game of musical chairs between aging leaders who care more about their own interests than the country's future.

Added to this is the recurring complaint of rampant corruption, with officials facing accusations of exploiting their positions to gain illicit wealth amid a lack of transparency and accountability.

Nepal suffers from high unemployment rates, particularly among young people, which reached nearly 20% last year, while the rate of those neither employed nor educated in the same age group exceeds 30%. Per capita income did not exceed $1,447 in 2024.

This reality has forced hundreds of thousands of Nepalis to emigrate annually, with more than 2,000 young people leaving daily for work in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.

Thus, remittances from these expatriates have become the backbone of the country's economy, accounting for 26.5% of GDP, reflecting the fragility of the economic structure and its heavy dependence on foreign exchange.

In addition to unemployment, Nepal suffers from stark economic inequality. Nearly a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, while the top 10% of households own approximately 26 times more wealth than the majority.

These factors have led to an explosion of popular anger, a scene that was not surprising but rather a natural result of deep frustration with entrenched corruption and the absence of social justice.

In another context, Nepal's youth uprising has attracted significant international attention due to the country's sensitive location between India and China.

Nepal has long sought to balance its relations with its two giant neighbors, especially since the south of the country is culturally linked to India, while the north is closer to China.

Analysts believe the current crisis could be a setback for China's influence in Nepal, amid the potential rise of political forces more in favor of India.

This setback is strikingly similar to what happened in Sri Lanka in 2022, when a stifling economic crisis and widespread popular protests led to the ouster of President Rajapaksa, one of Beijing's most prominent allies in South Asia.

Rajapaksa's fall allowed India and the West to regain greater influence in Sri Lanka at the expense of Chinese interests.

Last year, Bangladesh also witnessed protests that ousted longtime leader Sheikh Hasina, a prominent Indian ally.