Earlier this fall in the country of Nepal a fallout of the most noteworthy conflict occurred in years, where in less than 48 hours, protesters forced the overthrow of the government. What makes this even more notable is that the majority of the protesters were Gen-Z. This conflict started on September 8th when police in the capital of Kathmandu opened fire on anti-corruption protesters as they were trying to breach parliament walls. Mobs responded by setting fires to buildings, looting banks and shops, and attacking politicians in their homes.
According to Nepal police spokesperson Ramesh Thapa, the violence killed more than 70 people and wounded thousands. The day after this conflict began, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli resigned due to the immense chaos a curfew was imposed by the military. By September 12th, the country had a new leader assigned, Sushila Karki. The 73 year old was Nepal’s first chief justice and is now its first female prime minister. Her appointment by Nepal’s president followed online polls on the chat portal Discord, where thousands supported her, backing up their favoritism by quoting her strong views on her strong dislike of corruption and elitism.
Abhyian Sapokta is a 27-year-old civil engineer who participated in the protests.
“Our movement was motivated by two things, unemployment and government corruption,” Sapokta said.
For months, young Nepalis sought to call attention to the citizens versus the wealthy elites by publicly shaming politicians and their children on social media. One image showed a politician’s daughter posing with a Prada bag worth $2,600, while the average yearly income in the country itself is less than $1,500 a year.
On September 4th, the government suddenly suspended most social media. This was seen by anti-corruption activists as an attempt to stop their campaign. This is what led to thousands protesting in Kathmandu on September 8th.
This form of civil unrest and government upending may become more commonplace in the future. According to the International Crisis Group, “The kind of international order and the checks and balances that were there in the glory days of the 2000s have slowly eroded over time. The global picture now resembles a little bit more of a wild, wild west where might is right, and force and transactional diplomacy and mercantilism rule the day.”
