Outrage.
This is the emotion seeping into every fiber of Nepal. The emotion that is pouring liquid courage into the veins of the youth of the Southeast Asian nation.
The emotion that is setting fire to the streets of Kathmandu.
For the large majority of Nepalis, life has been anything but easy… for quite a while.
Over the past three decades, the nation has worked tirelessly to mitigate the skyrocketing poverty rate, starting at over 55% in 1995 to 0.37% in 2022. Yet, overall unemployment in the nation has remained high, rising to 12.6% (as of 2024) with youth unemployment rates over 20%, leaving many young people (about 1 in 5) unable to find work.
In addition, Nepal’s economy relies heavily on remittances, or money sent back to family in Nepal by those working abroad. In fact, since 1993 (with the exception of three years: 2019-2021), Nepal’s net migration has been negative, highlighting the tens and now hundreds of thousands leaving the nation annually to pursue opportunities abroad and underscoring the severity of potential brain drain in Nepal.
The average per capita annual income in Nepal is about $1,400 – the lowest in South Asia.
To make matters worse, of the nation’s workforce, 82% are informally employed, or employed in “working arrangements that are in practice or by law not subject to national labour legislation, income taxation, or entitlement to social protection or other employment guarantees,” which often puts workers in highly vulnerable positions and far from government support or protection.
It was in this atmosphere that social media in Nepal was flooded with flashy images of the children of Nepal’s political leaders flaunting their wealth and opulent lifestyles, earning the hashtag and catchphrase “nepo kids”.
The trend placed the lives of Nepal’s political brass in sharp contrast to the challenges faced by the average Nepali citizen, especially in light of the “modest official salaries” paid to these officials, adding fuel to the fire in the conversation over Nepal’s pervasive corruption problem.
As outrage threatened to boil over with the “nepo kids” trend, the Nepali government made the – highly controversial – decision to block several social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, YouTube, and more. Citing new rules designed to curb hate speech and misinformation, the government issued an ultimatum: social media platforms had to register, or they would be banned.
On Sept. 4 by midnight, according to CNN (based on reports from local media), “26 [social media] platforms had gone dark.”
Between the widespread economic challenges plaguing Nepalis, the taunting and derisive nature of the images that gave rise to the “nepo kids” trend, and the obvious disregard and infringement on free speech through the social media ban, tensions in Nepal exploded.
Nepal’s youth flooded the streets in outrage – angry about the social media ban, angry about the economic challenges, and most of all, angry about the relentless corruption.
What started as a peaceful – albeit populous, with tens of thousands rallying in Kathmandu – protest quickly devolved into violence on both sides.
At a protest Monday at Nepal’s Parliament building, police opened fire, killing 19, and injuring 100 through the use of tear gas and rubber bullets. On the other hand, protestors set fire to the Nepali Parliament and the homes of several of the nation’s political elite, including the home of former Nepali Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, whose wife burned to death in the flames that consumed their residence.
What now?
While the ban on social media has been lifted, Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, has seen the institution of a curfew (alongside two other cities) and schools have been closed. Nepal’s main airport in Kathmandu has also been closed over concerns regarding security.
Following the example of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Nepal’s prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli announced his resignation on Tuesday. The prime minister had previously issued a statement promising compensation for lives lost, free treatment for the wounded, and the formation of an investigative committee to submit a report within 15 days.
The situation in Nepal is reflective of a wider trend across the world: the outrage threatening to boil over amongst young people as old and apathetic politicians fail to take action with the efficiency and effectiveness needed to address the problems of today.
From Malala Yousafzai to Greta Thunberg, young people have increasingly had to take on responsibility far beyond their years and advocate for seemingly insurmountable issues to ensure they’re acknowledged and addressed.
And the journey is far from over. As the number of problems the world faces continues to grow and the number of people willing to address them continues to diminish, it is up to us – young people – to shoulder the burden of these challenges and bring about the change we are desperate to see.
