Foreign trips, designer handbags & more: Inside the luxurious life of Nepal’s ‘nepo kids’

Violent protests have rocked Nepal over the last week, leading to the resignation of the country’s prime minister amid public anger over corruption and nepotism.

The Gen Z-led protests also expressed frustration towards political ‘nepo kids’ and raised questions about whether politicians’ children succeed because of privilege rather than hard work.

Notably, the police crackdown on the protests has led to the deaths of 34 people and left 1,000 others injured.

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The unrest involved burning down government buildings and politicians’ homes, attacking leaders, blocking roads, and forcing their way into official offices as the demonstrators clashed with security forces.

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So, why did Gen Z revolt against the ‘nepo kids’?

We break down the reasons in this explainer. Let’s take a look:

Inside the lavish lifestyle of Nepal’s ‘nepo kids’

Social media has been filled with images of the luxurious lives led by the children of the country’s politicians, even as protests take place on the streets.

Using the hashtag ‘#nepokids’, many young people from influential families have been called out by Nepalis for being disconnected from the reality of a country where one in four people lives below the poverty line.

This anger has helped fuel the ongoing protests, which began after a social media ban but have grown from years of frustration with those in power.

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Users have posted videos and photos on TikTok and X that appear to show the children of Nepali politicians on luxury trips and dressed in expensive clothing, alongside clips showing the struggles of ordinary people.

Hashtags such as #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal and #NepoBabies have gained millions of views on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and X.

These posts show luxury cars, high-end designer clothes, fine dining overseas, and exclusive holiday spots. Many have been placed next to images of Nepalis facing floods, power outages, and rising food costs.

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Here are some of the names that have gone viral on social media:

Shrinkhala Khatiwada

She is a former Miss Nepal winner and is among the many ‘nepo babies’ facing criticism online. The 2018 beauty queen has been steadily losing followers as she is being criticised for staying silent during the protests.

The 29-year-old is the daughter of former Nepal health minister Birodh Khatiwada, and her mother Munu Sigdel Khatiwada is a member of the Bagmati Province state parliament.

Her Instagram feed shows her travelling to places like London, the United States and Switzerland. She had more than a million followers before the protests began.

In the past few days, her follower count has been falling. From over a million, she now has around 902,000 followers on Instagram.

Shivana Shrestha

The popular singer and daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba often posts videos showing lavish homes and costly fashion.

She and her husband Jaiveer Singh Deuba have been targeted online as examples of political families living in wealth “worth crores.”

Smita Dahal

She is the granddaughter of Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, the former Prime Minister and leader of the Communist Party of Nepal.

She faced backlash for showing off handbags worth lakhs of rupees on social media while many Nepalis struggle to find jobs.

Saugat Thapa

He is the son of Law Minister Bindu Kumar Thapa and has been shown online living a life surrounded by luxury.

His photos have spread widely as the protests have grown.

The outrage against ‘nepo kids’

Many posts mix images of these so-called “nepo kids” with pictures showing the daily struggles of ordinary and poor Nepalis, reflecting a belief that the wealth of the country’s political elite has come at the cost of the wider population.

Raqib Naik, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate in Washington, a group that monitors extremism and misinformation in South Asia and its diasporas, told The New York Times that the contrast “between elite privilege and everyday hardship struck a deep chord with Gen Z and quickly became a central narrative driving the movement.”

Transparency International, an independent nonprofit, has ranked Nepal among the most corrupt countries in Asia.

Even though scandals often surface, usually involving collusion between elected leaders and supposedly independent officials, very few cases have led to successful prosecutions.

The government’s brief ban on social media further angered protestors, who saw it as an attempt to silence criticism of the inequalities they are protesting against.