Nepalese Gen Z protest
Protesters out front of the seat of the Nepalese governments office (courtesy of AP / Prakash Timalsina)
By Wyett Pinney, Photo Editor
Starting with an online trend and the banning of all social media, the Nepalese government fell in early September, in the Nepalese Gen Z Protests
The tag of #Politiciansnepobabynepal was on a rise in popularity before the events of the protests, highlighting the wealth gap between the children of Nepali bureaucrats and average Nepali children. This, paired with a dependency on online jobs for a majority of the young population, led to banning of social media. Which was seen as both the suppression of free speech and a threat to the livelihood of many Nepalis.
Protests broke out on September 8, with one of the biggest surrounding the parliament building in the capital city of Kathmandu. Although it began as a peaceful protest, it eventually escalated into violence as protesters and law enforcement clashed. The media ban was removed later that same day, but curfews were placed on the capital and other major cities.
The next day, tensions rose as protests continued, and took an even more violent turn. The mansions of the prime minister and other politicians were lit ablaze along with the Parliament building, as the prime minister and a large portion of the ministry of agriculture resigned, with the military “taking charge” by the end of day.
Attacks on government offices continued through the next day with the military patrolling neighborhoods and seizing weapons from protesters. September 10 also saw the first steps towards electing an interim prime minister using the site Discord. Using a pole in a server called Youths Against Corruption with over 100,000 members. Voters eventually decided on Sushila Karki, the country's former chief justice, as interim prime minister and the first female prime minister in the country's history.
These events have also had a large international impact, both politically and in the media. So far, both the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs have released statements giving condolences for loss of life, while not condemning the protests. However they have also warned Indian and Bangladeshi citizens respectively to follow curfew laws while they were still in place and issuing travel warnings. In the media, while the protests have garnered a lot of support globally, they have also been polarizing with some human rights groups condemning the violence.
Film of the protests went viral as well, with YouTuber Wehatethecold’s travel vlogs reaching tens of millions of views after the path for his motorcycle vlog from Thailand to the United Kingdom coincided with the protests. Getting footage of the fires, police resistance and tear gas, from the inside of the protests and riots.
Nepal plans to continue following the same election dates that were previously established for its upcoming election, though expectations are that leadership will be chosen to continue the war on corruption that the interim prime minister was chosen for.