By Sade Reyes
TAMPA, Fla. — This month, a social media ban in Nepal mobilized an uprising, bringing major political change in the nation in a matter of days. On Sept. 4, the nation’s government, led by Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli at the time, banned 26 social media sites.
By Sept. 9, protesters set fire to the parliament building, and the Prime Minister resigned. Within the next three days, long-standing leaders were pushed out, and an election was held on the social media platform Discord to select an interim leader, the first female Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karki.
While a debate over free speech surrounding the ban sparked the uprising, discontent in Nepal did not start with the social media ban. A history of political frustrations from Nepalis “set the stage for what we are seeing now,’’ said Ryan Welch, political science and international studies professor at The University of Tampa.
Netra Khanal, professor at UTampa, grew up in Nepal and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Tribhuvan University there. He said frustrations with the government have been growing long before this uprising.
Since 2008, political figures such as K.P. Sharma Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Sher Bahadur Deuba have held the office of prime minister. This contributes to the frustration.
“Activists were using social media to increase awareness about extreme economic inequality,” said Welch.
As of 2025, the unemployment rate is over 20% for people ages 15 to 24.
“The hashtag #nepokidsnepal began to pick up steam [suggesting] that the young and rich owed their lavish lifestyle to nepotism,” said Welch. “While others could not find work for basic needs.”
The social media ban and free speech debate, along with built-up frustrations with the government, played a part in mobilizing young, working-class protesters, who made up the majority of protesters.
However, it was unlikely the government was aware of the level of tension in the country.
“Given that the government reversed the social media ban, it seems likely that they underestimated the amount of discontent in society,” said Liv Coleman, an international studies and political science professor at UTampa.
“This movement shows how powerful social media can be to share and build a protest movement,” Coleman said. “However, it also shows it is less effective at channeling those feelings of discontent.”
While the ban on social media may not have been the cause of the uprising, it still played a significant role because of its intention to control negative public comments on political leaders, said Khanal.
“It appears the government sought to strategically shut down that media conversation by banning popular social media platforms,” said Welch.
He said the ban allowed young Nepalis to unite over the censorship issue, although it was only an addition to their frustrations.
Within days of protests that later turned violent when other groups infiltrated the originally peaceful protest, there was a vacuum in the Prime Minister position. Then the Nepali people elected the interim Prime Minister through a Discord server. Karki took office on Sept. 12 as the first female Prime Minister of Nepal.
Khanal said he believes that the uprising could have been avoided if the government paid more attention to internal frustrations, but he said, “It will ultimately have a positive impact.”
“This situation shows that young people, they are smart. And they have access to the internet and international media,” said Khanal. “They are capable of understanding the situation, and they brought this government down. That’s a really big thing.”
However, Khanal said even if some changes are made, a new government is still going to face economic and infrastructural challenges.
Welch said that this scenario shows signs of a revolution, such as a rapid change in state structure, and is being carried out primarily by people in lower-income groups. But he said it is still unclear what the long-term effects will be.
“Time will tell if class structures actually change,” he said.
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Flag of Nepal at Maitighar mandala Kathmandu. Photo courtesy of Janak_Bhatta, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
