The protests in Nepal against a ban on most popular social media apps are stunning in their scale, but the rage fueling them was far from sudden.
It reflected more recently in trends and hashtags referencing “Nepo Kids” — children of politicians photographed enjoying luxurious lifestyles — to expose alleged nepotism and corruption.
That rage matched with ingenuity meant that despite a ban on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Snapchat, protesters gathered in the thousands in capital Kathmandu and elsewhere on Monday, using alternatives like TikTok or technical workarounds like VPN to spread their message.
And what began as a hashtag over nepotism, turned into a full-scale “Protest by Gen-Z” when the government went ahead with a ban on the most-used social media apps, purportedly throttling voices of dissent.
Now the protesters are not only talking of the ban, but also referencing government deals and alleged large-scale corruption. These include a 2017 deal in which the state-run Nepal Airlines bought two Airbus jets. An inquiry of five years revealed last year that the deal led to a loss of $10.4 million to the Nepali exchequer. Some top officials were convicted of corruption, too.
Then there was “inspiration” from similar youth protests in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the South Asian subcontinent, a protester told Al Jazeera. The “Nepo Kids” trend came in from the Philippines, he said. Videos emerged on TikTok showing children of Nepali politicians living lives of luxury.
The government’s September 4 announcement to block several social media platforms in “national interest” led to a clarion call among dissatisfied young people.
Hami Nepal, a nonprofit that began as a youth group in 2015, was among the formal organisers of Monday’s protest. But the stir had support from a varied set of individuals and outfits angry with the coalition government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
“The protests are fuelled by the frustration of youth and their disbelief in authority, as they feel sidelined from decision-making,” Yog Raj Lamichhane, an assistant professor at Nepal’s Pokhara University, was quoted as saying. He said the ban on social media platforms was only some fuel, while “the grievances extend far deeper”.
There were sporadic bans earlier too, including one on TikTok. But the apps complied or promised to, and were thus unrestricted.
Viber, WeTalk, Nimbuzz and Poppo Live have registered, but others including Facebook have not, a communications ministry official told reporters. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, had not yet responded.
“We gave them enough time to register and repeatedly requested them to comply with our request,” communications minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said ahead of the protest.
Prime Minister Oli had justified the ban on Sunday, addressing representatives of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).
He said his party was not against social media “but what cannot be accepted is those doing business in Nepal, making money, and yet not complying with the law”.
He also called protesters “puppets who only oppose for the sake of opposing”.
Meanwhile, the Gen Z group of Kathmandu, composed mostly of people below the age of 28, called for a wider protest. The group of youngsters who launched the campaign “Nepo Kids” also joined in.
Violence erupted at the rally, killing more than 15 protestors, leading to even louder voices for the government to back down.
India has, meanwhile, sounded an alert in its border with Nepal after the protests.
