2025 Nepalese Gen Z Protests
What triggered the mass protests in Nepal in September 2025?
What economic issues contributed to the Nepalese protests?
What was the Nepalese government’s justification for the social media ban in September 2025?
How did the 2025 Nepalese protests compare to similar events in other countries?
In September 2025 Nepal descended into political crisis after the government imposed a sweeping social media ban in an apparent attempt to silence dissent. The move, against a backdrop of economic dysfunction and widespread youth disillusionment, ignited mass protests across Kathmandu and other Nepalese cities, led largely by Generation Z demonstrators. Clashes between protesters and security forces broke out on September 8; by September 9 the parliament building and other government offices were in flames and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli had resigned. The ban was lifted that day, but protests continued until the army imposed a nationwide curfew on September 10. By September 22 the violence had left 74 dead and more than 2,113 injured. The crisis echoed recent youth-led uprisings in Sri Lanka (2022) and Bangladesh (2024), underscoring the fragility of small South Asian democracies and raising far-reaching questions about the future of free speech and digital expression in Asia.
Amid the unrest, protest leaders rallied around Sushila Karki, the first woman to serve as Nepal’s chief justice (2016–17), as their choice for interim prime minister. After consultations with the army, the decision was conveyed to the president’s office, and Karki was sworn in on September 12, becoming the first woman to serve as the country’s head of government.
Background
Nepal’s economy has long been characterized by structural weaknesses. Youth unemployment in the country, officially reported at more than 20 percent in 2022–23, is among the highest in South Asia. About one-third of the country’s gross domestic product comes from remittances sent by citizens working abroad, reflecting the limited opportunities within the domestic economy. Young Nepalis, therefore, have few prospects. Their frustration is compounded by the fact that the country’s limited productive sectors (such as banking, real estate, and large-scale import businesses) are controlled by a small, wealthy elite that dominates both government and economy.
Politically, Nepal has experienced chronic instability. The 2001 royal massacre, in which Crown Prince Dipendra killed 10 members of the royal family (including King Birendra and himself), hastened the decline of the monarchy, which was formally abolished in May 2008. Subsequent democratic governments, however, were fragile: Between 2008 and September 2025, no administration completed a full five-year term as 14 governments were formed under eight different prime ministers.
After the promulgation of a new constitution in 2015, the position of prime minister rotated between a trio of leaders—K.P. Sharma Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Sher Bahadur Deuba—all of whom faced persistent allegations of corruption and nepotism. Public trust in political institutions correspondingly eroded, especially among younger citizens.
Social media ban
On September 4, 2025, Nepal’s government suspended 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), China’s WeChat, Russia’s VK, and Japan’s LINE. Authorities cited noncompliance with new registration rules under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, but the move was widely seen as an attempt to suppress criticism of the government.
The ban drew comparisons to China’s strategy of restricting online platforms to curb dissent. China, however, blocks Western sites while offering domestic alternatives (such as WeChat, RedNote, and Douyin). Nepal offered no substitutes, creating the perception of a government effort to isolate its youth from global communication. The measure also proved unenforceable: VPN services reported a surge in registrations as Nepali citizens sought a way to bypass government restrictions.
Protests and political breakdown
On September 8 thousands of young demonstrators, many in school and university uniforms, gathered in central Kathmandu near the Maitighar Mandala monument and the federal parliament. The protests began peacefully but turned violent after security barricades were breached. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and eventually live ammunition.
Unrest spread quickly as protesters set fire to government buildings, police stations, and the residences of politicians. The homes of Oli and former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal were among those targeted; Khanal’s wife, Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar, suffered severe burn injuries. On September 10 the army imposed a nationwide curfew that contained the unrest, but only after the near-total collapse of civilian governance. The army thus emerged as the country’s last stable institution capable of negotiating with protest leaders and conferring legitimacy on any new government.
Interim government under Sushila Karki
Karki’s appointment as interim prime minister on September 12 was hailed by supporters as a generational victory over corruption and oligarchy, but critics emphasized its extralegal character, pointing to the burning of parliament during the protests and her selection through an “election” on a Discord server that hosted more than 145,000 protesters.
She began forming her cabinet on September 15 with three appointments and added five more on September 21. Many of the new ministers were reformist figures, a move widely interpreted as a signal of her commitment to transparency and rebuilding public trust. Her government also established a judicial inquiry commission to investigate the killings and destruction during the protests and created a Reconstruction Fund to support the rebuilding of infrastructure and the restoration of government services.
Faced with the immense challenge of restoring stability and pursuing a more equitable political order, Karki consolidated her position within her first weeks in office, retained broad popular support, and initiated measures to address the damage caused by the protests.
Regional context and implications
Comparison to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
Nepal became the third South Asian government in the 2020s to fall to youth-driven protests. In 2022 Sri Lanka’s government collapsed amid demonstrations over economic mismanagement and corruption, though stability returned relatively quickly under new leadership. In 2024 Bangladesh’s student-led uprising ousted Sheikh Hasina Wazed and installed a caretaker administration under Muhammad Yunus, but political stability has remained elusive. In all three cases, digital networks enabled rapid mobilization against entrenched elites, though the outcomes diverged, and Nepal’s trajectory remains uncertain.
- Date:
- September 2025
- Location:
- Nepal
Implications for free speech in Asia
The crisis underscored the centrality of digital expression in Asian politics. Social media has become a powerful tool for youth activism not only in South Asia but also in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Governments in Asia take varied approaches to digital freedom, and Nepal’s geographic position between India and China places it within a broader contest between democratic and authoritarian models. India has historically emphasized democratic traditions, while China maintains tight control over media and political discourse; other countries in the region have selectively adopted elements of both. Nepal’s abrupt attempt to impose Chinese-style controls—without China’s governance structures or a robust domestic digital ecosystem—triggered the collapse of its government within a week and now stands as a cautionary example for other fragile democracies.