On Sept. 8, tens of thousands of Generation Z protesters filled the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal to voice their grievances against the government. News of this event rapidly broke across global networks and social media platforms to draw the attention of the general public.
Weber State University has a link to this incident with upwards of 500 students originating from Nepal. These students have found support through the Nepalese Student Association of Weber State as they have held candlelight vigils in response to the protests.
Many of these students have been personally affected by the protest and are trying to do their part to reform the Nepalese government from afar.
“Corruption is the most important thing. The corruption is from the local level to the federal,” said Gaurab Kalfe, public relations representative of the Nepalese Student Association.
Money was at the heart of the corruption occurring through the Nepalese government, according to Kalfe. Government officials were constantly mismanaging the funds they collected from the citizens in the form of taxes and other governmental fees. Kalfe also spoke about the disappointing lack of transparency the government had with its citizens.
“We pay this much tax, you guys get this much foreign aid from other countries and where is the money being used,” said Shasanka Gautam, secretary of the Nepalese Student Association. “They started using social media for that … spending their money on the luxurious lives of their children and not focusing more on the development of the country.”
The social media ban occurred four days before the protests began which many news sources have credited as the breaking point for the young citizens of Nepal. Both Gautam and Kalfe expressed that it is important for the general public to understand that although the ban ignited the fire of the protest, the root of the problem was the corruption being exposed through the social media platforms.
“Many of the people recommended our former Chief Justice of Nepal, the first female justice and she’s also the first Prime Minister,” said Kalfe.
Through a conversation on Discord, Sushila Karki was appointed to be the interim Prime Minister of Nepal until the official election takes place in March 2026. Gautam highlighted this appointment as the first step in electing leadership who are qualified to be in governmental positions.
“The current government is trying to work according to the changes … If we select the right candidate and right leadership, then the country’s situation might be better than we expect,” said Kalfe.
The future of the Nepalese government is uncertain at this point, but according to Kalfe and Gautam, a full scale revolution isn’t necessary. The people of Nepal need to rely on their constitution to provide the framework for restructuring the government.
For more information regarding this issue or to show support, reach out to the Nepalese Student Association through Instagram @wsunepal.
