 "Demonstrators burn furniture and a police booth outside Nepali Congress party office during a protest against Monday's killing of 19 people, after anti-corruption protests that were triggered by a social media ban which was later lifted, during a curfew in Kathmandu, Nepal. Reuters")
“The leaders think that they can do anything when they have a majority in Parliament. Today’s youths are not their slaves. Stop acting like King Gyanendra [who was ousted from power in 2008] and remove restrictions on social media immediately.”
These powerful words were uttered by Dr Arun Sayami, former dean of the Institute of Medicine, in Nepal on Monday as Gen-Z protests broke out across the country, following the government’s ban on 26 major social media platforms, including Facebook, X, YouTube, and WhatsApp.
Following the massive protests, which resulted in the deaths of 19 people and more than 200 others being injured, the Nepal government called off the ban with all of the apps going live on Monday night (September 8).
Nepal protests: Catch all the ‘live’ updates here
But Gen-Z’s anger in Nepal hasn’t abated. The protesters have blocked roads outside the parliament in Kathmandu, while some have even resorted to stone pelting and vandalism of the houses of authorities. It’s also led to the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma.
We take a closer look at how the youth aren’t just concerned about social media trends but are also changing the course of history through their demonstrations and agitations.
Nepal’s Gen-Z protests
On Monday (September 8), demonstrators, namely Gen-Z, spilled on to the streets of Nepal after the government blocked social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube. The government explained that the ban was required to clamp down on fake news and hate speech and accused the companies of failing to register.
But the demonstrators didn’t see it that way, calling the move a tool for censorship.
Waving national flags, young demonstrators started the protest with the national anthem before unleashing chants against the social media prohibitions and corruption. The crowd swelled as it crossed into a restricted area close to the parliament, with some climbing over the wall into the premises.
This resulted in tear gas and water cannons being used against the demonstrators with the administration even imposing curfew in several key areas of the city, including the parliament, the president’s residence and Singha Durbar, which houses the prime minister’s office.
The intensity of the protests led to the government, reversing its decision on the ban. “We have withdrawn the shutdown of the social media. They are working now,” said the communications minister, Prithvi Subba Gurung.
But this did little to assuage the anger, as Gen-Z protesters continued their demonstrations on Tuesday, decrying the government’s perceived lack of action to tackle corruption and boost economic opportunities.
As 24-year-old student Yujan Rajbhandari told AFP, “We were triggered by the social media ban but that is not the only reason we are gathered here. We are protesting against corruption that has been institutionalised in Nepal.”
And the protests don’t show any signs of abating. On Tuesday, protesters, mostly students, chanted slogans such as “don’t kill students” and marched towards Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s ancestral house where they hurled stones.
Moreover, protesters also set fire to the Nepali Congress Party office in Balkhu area of the city, as well as pelted stones at the Bhaisepati residence of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel. The protesters also set on fire Information and Communication Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung’s residence. The police picket outside former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda’s house was also set ablaze. There are also reports of arson in Chandrapur Municipality of Rautahat.
The demand from the protesters now is that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resign. And it seems that Oli has heard them, as he tendered his resignation with sources even citing that he had spoken to the army chief to ensure his safe exit from his residence.
Bangladesh’s Gen-Z ousts Hasina
Last August, a Gen-Z revolution pitted young student demonstrators against 76-year-old Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled the country for more than 15 years. What happened next was shocking to all: the protesters forced Hasina to resign and flee the nation, resulting in the formation of an interim government under the charge of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The match that lit this fire though occurred back in June. Students initially poured into Bangladesh’s streets, demanding an end to rules that set aside up to 30 per cent of government jobs for the descendants of veterans who fought the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
Protesters said that benefitted supporters of Hasina’s Awami League, which led that struggle — and who already were part of the elite. The quota and others for marginalised groups meant only 44 per cent of civil service jobs were awarded based on merit.
When confronted with their demands, Hasina had clapped back, asking who, if not the freedom fighters, should be awarded government jobs. “Who will? The grandchildren of Razakars ?” Hasina retorted, using the deeply offensive word that refers to those who collaborated with Pakistan to quell Bangladesh’s independence struggle.
What followed were massive protests, with demonstrators calling for Hasina’s ouster, and terming her as a dictator. On August 4, nearly 100 people were killed in a police crackdown, causing outrage. A day later, Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country, ending her 15-year rule.
The anger was such that even the statues of her father, the freedom icon Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, were toppled and defaced.
Georgia’s Gen-Z angered by foreign agent law
In May 2024, the small country of Georgia experienced protests unlike ever before. Thousands of young people, mostly 20-year-olds, came out on to the streets of Tbilisi and other cities.
The reason: the country’s “ foreign agent” bill , which would require media outlets and NGOs to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if more than 20 per cent of their funding comes from abroad.
The law is regarded by critics at home and internationally as a copy of that introduced in Russia in 2012 by Vladimir Putin to silence dissenting voices. The bill eventually passed in May but it wasn’t smooth sailing.
As Vano Abramishvili, a director at Caucasian House, an NGO that runs programmes for young people said, this generation was not used to – nor would accept – the repression that older Georgians had experienced. “They are quite fearless,” he said.
From Columbia to NYU, US campus protests
The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 led to Israel’s ongoing war in the region. Hundreds have died and the destruction is unprecedented. Amid this situation, students across the United States took out massive protests at their colleges to decry the killing of innocent Palestinians.
The result: An eruption of protests — and around-the-clock encampments — at colleges and universities around the country over Israel’s war with Hamas and universities’ investments in companies that are involved with Israel.
In fact, the mass protests escalated dramatically across the country after students set up a tent encampment at Columbia University in New York on April 17, 2024, demanding the school divest from companies they claim “profit from Israeli apartheid”.
Police tried to clear the encampment the following day, arresting 108 protesters in the process. But those arrests proved an inspiration for other students across the country and motivated protesters at Columbia to regroup.
Since then, hundreds of students, and many non-students, have been arrested at universities from coast to coast despite many protests largely being peaceful. Most of the arrests have been for disturbing the peace or trespassing after refusing university requests to remove encampments, though some have been for more serious crimes.
Kenya’s Gen-Z uprising
In June 2024, thousands of Kenyans took to the streets to protest plans to increase taxes on goods and services like bread, diapers and sanitary towels, and to reduce spending on public services. Dubbed the ‘Gen Z protests‘ , as the majority of participants were young people, these demonstrations quickly became violent.
The protests saw large-scale use of social media apps such as X and TikTok to educate one another about the contents of the Finance Bill, counter government narratives, and organise coordinated demonstrations across the country.
The state doubled down in the face of growing dissent. What followed was one of the most violent crackdowns in Kenya’s recent history. The tipping point came on the afternoon of June 25, 2024 when protesters breached the walls of Parliament and made their way into the chambers — a bold symbolic act of protest against lawmakers who had just voted to pass the controversial Finance Bill despite overwhelming public opposition.
Security forces unleashed their full weight against the protesters. Tear gas, water cannons, and live ammunition were used against unarmed protesters. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 60 young protesters lost their lives in June alone.
Climate strikes of 2019
But before Nepal and Bangladesh, were the climate strikes in 2019 where masses of young people poured into the streets on every continent to demand action be taken to address climate change.
These protests, which took place between September 20 and September 27, 2019 took place across 4,500 locations in 150 countries. The event stemmed from the Fridays for Future school strike for climate movement, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The Guardian reported that roughly six million people participated in the events, whilst 350.org – a group that organised many of the protests – claim that 7.6 million people participated.
Experts at the time said that these protests were significant as children drove the debate.
These protests show this is not the first time in modern history that young people have galvanised around a cause. And in Nepal’s case, they have brought about a change — Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned.
With inputs from agencies
Roshneesh is on the Explainers team and loves her job. Apart from the everyday 'explaining', she enjoys tennis and is a Rafa fan for life. She is also a Potterhead.