14 killed, over 100 injured in Nepal unrest: Why is it being dubbed the Gen Z protests?

The demonstrations on Monday were called the protest of Gen Z, a term used to refer to people born between 1995 and 2010. With the age group of 16-25 years accounting for 20.8 per cent of total population and 90 per cent of its 30 million people using the internet, the country has become a fertile ground for a digitally native generation to mobilise online dissent into mass street protests.

Many protestors were seen in their school and college uniforms as they swarmed New Baneshwor, which houses the Parliament, the government secretariat, and the presidential house.

At least 14 people were killed and over a hundred were left injured as agitators pushed through barbed wires, forcing riot police to retreat and authorities to deploy the army to bring the situation under control. Curfew orders have been issued in the city till 10 pm local time.

The protests come as Nepal’s Parliament deliberates on a Bill to ensure social platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable.” But Monday’s crowds chanted “Stop the ban on social media, stop corruption not social media.” They held up banners that said, “Unban social media,” and “Youths against corruption.”

Several countries including the US, EU, Brazil, India, China and Australia, have also taken steps to increase oversight of social media and Big Tech due to growing concern about issues such as misinformation, data privacy and national security.