Event Summary
On 8 September 2025, protests led by Generation Z erupted across Nepal—including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, and other major city centres—in response to corruption scandals and the government’s decision to ban 26 major social media platforms. The demonstrations quickly escalated into a nationwide uprising. Security forces responded with excessive force, including water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition. At least 19 people were killed, with hundreds injured, many of them students. Hospitals were overwhelmed with critically wounded protesters, including victims with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Despite curfews, protests intensified on 9 September 2025, following the resignation of the Prime Minister. Reports indicated widespread violence, including attacks on police posts, government offices, and politicians’ residences. Security forces remained deployed at major intersections, but demonstrations continued nationwide. The government lifted the social media ban on September 8 to appease demands, but the unrest has shifted toward a broader political crisis. Civil society organisations condemned the government’s violent crackdown and called for accountability.
While the protests are most visible in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Butwal, they have spread widely to district capitals. Students and youth are disproportionately affected, but the situation has now escalated into a national political crisis undermining governance structures and public trust in institutions.
These developments represent a serious deterioration of the enabling environment, undermining fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, eroding trust in state institutions, and exposing youth and civil society activists to heightened risks of violence and repression.