The protests in Nepal last September “were not only about the social media ban, they were about dignity, accountability, and years of frustration boiling over,” commented Nepali democracy activist Sarita Bartaula, hosting an online discussion focusing on the country’s "shifting political landscape: Gen Z protest, democratic reform, and pathway forward".

Her opening remarks set the tone for a wide-ranging discussion organised by Sapan last Sunday, exploring the causes, consequences, and implications of Nepal’s recent Gen Z-led protests that led to regime change.

Given Bangladesh’s ‘Monsoon Revolution’ just last year, and the upsurge of violence in Bangladesh last week, it is fitting that well known feminist and peace activist Khushi Kabir moderated the discussion from her base in Dhaka.

The diverse, intergenerational panel featured human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist Bhakta Bishwakarma, Gen Z organiser and lawyer Tanuja Pandey, Dr Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director of the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement, actor and social activist Rima Bishwokarma, and former chief election commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel.

With an interim government in place and elections scheduled for March 2026, the webinar framed the current period as a critical crossroads for democracy in the landlocked Himalayan nation.

From Frustration To The Streets

Tanuja Pandey, 25, one of the most prominent faces of the recent protests, described the uprising as the culmination of long-simmering anger rather than a reaction to a single event.

“What we saw in the first week of September was an accumulation of frustration felt not just by Gen Z, but by entire generations,” she said.

Months of youth-led digital campaigns calling out political elites for corruption and conspicuous wealth intensified after a hit-and-run case involving a provincial minister, explained Pandey, noting that “an insensitive response” from the then prime minister made matters worse.

The Nepalese government’s subsequent ban on social media platforms was widely perceived as an attempt to suppress dissent, prompting young people to take to the streets on September 8. Pandey stressed that the protests were initially peaceful and echoed earlier youth-led mobilisations, including Nepal’s Enough Is Enough campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The violence came from the state,” Pandey said, alleging that security personnels used excessive force, resulting in the deaths of 23 protesters. “September 9 was a repercussion of what the state did to its people.”

Panellists emphasised that the protests did not represent a rejection of democratic processes.

Inclusion beyond mobilisation

Human rights lawyer Bhakta Bishwakarma who is also a Dalit rights activist, placed the protests within Nepal’s longer struggle for inclusive democracy, emphasising the responsibility of civil society to bridge the gap between youth energy and institutional reform.

“One of the major stakeholders is the youth,” he said, adding that inclusion must extend beyond mobilisation to informed participation. He called for sustained intergenerational dialogue involving political parties, Gen Z activists, civil society, and state institutions.

A key demand emerging from the Gen Z movement, said Bishwakarma, is the right to out-of-country voting. With an estimated four to five million Nepalis living abroad, he argued that electoral reform must address diaspora participation alongside proposals such as a “no vote” option allowing voters to reject all candidates.

“The challenge is not just participation, but legitimacy,” he added, pointing to ongoing efforts to build consensus around electoral reforms through evidence-based advocacy.

Youth Anger, Rising Aspirations

Political analyst Dr. Pramod Jaiswal traced Nepal’s Gen Z uprising to a convergence of long-standing crises, including unemployment, inequality, and corruption. He stressed that frustration cut across generations and even within ruling parties themselves.

Jaiswal highlighted the role of rising global aspirations amplified by social media, arguing that young people today experience global opportunity in real time, widening the gap between expectations and lived realities. When those frustrations meet state responses such as social media bans or repression, confrontation becomes almost inevitable.

He also pointed to Nepal’s fragile geopolitical balancing act between India, China, and the United States as a factor contributing to regime instability. While new political alternatives briefly channelled public hope, their inability to deliver sustained reform left anger without a clear outlet.

Despite these risks, Jaiswal identified a critical achievement of the Gen Z movement: forcing political parties to confront accountability. He cautioned, however, that sustaining change remains difficult amid the risks of fatigue, elite resurgence, or authoritarian capture.

Media, Trust, Narrative Power

Actor and media figure Rima Bishwokarma reflected on how the protests exposed a widening disconnect between mainstream media and young audiences. Drawing on her two decades-long experience in Nepali media, she argued that journalism plays a decisive role during crises, either by amplifying public voices or distorting them.

She observed that during the Gen Z protests, young leaders largely bypassed traditional media in favour of digital platforms they perceived as more responsive and trustworthy. This shift, she said, reflected a broader perception that mainstream outlets were politically aligned and more interested in instructing audiences than representing them.

Rebuilding trust, Bishwokarma argued, requires not only inclusion of youth voices but genuine youth participation in shaping public narratives. While acknowledging that she is not a youth representative, she said she feels she represents their aspirations, which gives her the courage to join politics

Bhojraj Pokharel, a former chief election commissioner, framed the Gen Z movement as a historic shift in Nepal’s political culture. Unlike earlier periods when youth were mobilised as instruments by political parties, he said, this moment marked the emergence of youth as autonomous political actors.

Drawing parallels with the post-conflict elections of 2008, Pokharel noted that while inclusion was the central demand then, today’s challenge lies in translating Gen Z voices into sustained parliamentary representation. While highlighting the gains of affirmative action in past elections, he warned that credible polls depend on trust and l flagged serious vulnerabilities ahead of the March elections. These include weaknesses within the Election Commission, the influence of money in campaigns, and the growing threat of disinformation.

Enforcement, he argued, remains the weakest link in Nepal’s electoral process.

Pokharel also stressed the importance of large-scale domestic and international election observation, recalling how thousands of observers helped stabilise previous polls.

Moderator Khushi Kabir repeatedly situated Nepal’s uprising within a broader South Asian context, drawing parallels with recent mass movements in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. She described Nepal’s experience as part of a regional reckoning driven by youth demanding accountability, dignity, and meaningful participation in governance.

The session concluded with a shared recognition that Nepal’s political transition remains unfinished. The September protests opened space for change, but whether that space leads to justice, inclusion, and reform depends on what follows.

The region, as Khushi Kabir noted in closing, is watching. And so are its young people.

(The writer is a journalist from Lucknow and a recent Fulbright-Nehru Master’s scholar at Rutgers University. She can be reached at pragyan@sapannews.com. By special arrangement with Sapan)