Major protests have broken out across Nepal in September, led by young people angry over inequality, corruption and a government ban on social media platforms. The protests escalated into riots earlier this month.
Demonstrators stormed parliament, politicians’ homes and luxury hotels.
“I was there in parliament and saw people getting shot in front of me. This protest is about the corruption in the country. Now we have thrown out the government completely. We got what we wanted. My hope is to have new, elected leaders. We don’t want old leaders,” said Pawan Sharma, a 20-year-old student protester.
By mid-September, at least 70 people were reported dead, thousands were injured and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned. The Gen Z-led protests were often coordinated across various social media platforms, with many participants framing themselves as a generation rising up against corruption.
Similar events unfolded in Bangladesh, where demonstrations spread across multiple college campuses in July 2024. By August, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country. President Mohammad Shahabuddin dissolved parliament and installed an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Like in Nepal, the demonstrations in Bangladesh were driven by Gen Z and coordinated on social media.
Nepal’s parliament burned to the ground and Bangladesh’s prime minister fled to India. In the United States, young people have marched, rallied and voted in record numbers. But can America’s youth ever shake the foundations of power at home?
The median age in Nepal is 25.3 years old, and 26 in Bangladesh, creating a powerful force for youth mobilization. In the United States, Gen Z and millennials are the largest voting bloc, but their influence is less dominant compared with South Asia. Their power is still balanced against an older demographic that votes at higher rates.
Democratic Institutions in South Asia are weaker, more easily exploited and shaped by a long history of authoritarianism. In the United States, government systems such as the courts and Congress make toppling the system far more difficult.
Still, the U.S. has a long history of youth movements: civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and ‘70s, Occupy Wall Street in 2011, Black Lives Matter in 2020, and dozens of pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests.
So, can a Gen Z uprising happen in the U.S.? The short answer is yes — but not in the same way as in Nepal or Bangladesh.
Here’s the difference: those movements were loud enough to topple governments. In the United States, youth movements typically result in small reforms, nothing revolutionary.
American Gen Zers are divided across far too many issues and outvoted by older generations that continue to dominate turnout. Unlike in Nepal and Bangladesh, American youth lack the numbers, urgency and unity to topple the government.
Some argue that the U.S. government is already flirting with authoritarianism. The current administration has deployed the National Guard in Washington. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, violent crimes have dropped 35% since 2023. Critics are calling it government overreach. A show of force in search of a crisis.
Even with these red flags, the conditions for a youth-led overthrow aren’t present — at least not yet. The U.S. still has institutions that resist collapse: courts that strike down executive overreach, states that act independently and elections that consistently drive record youth turnout.
In Nepal and Bangladesh, youth make up an overwhelming majority and are subjected to fragile governments. In the United States, Gen Z can shape culture, pressure leaders and swing elections, but they cannot burn the system down.
That doesn’t make America’s youth powerless. The real test for Gen Z is whether they can channel anger and frustration into peaceful power. The most effective youth movements in American history — such as the anti-Vietnam War protests — pushed change through persistence, visibility and organized pressure. Political violence, however, won’t solve our problems. It will only create new problems in the long run.
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TOP PHOTO: Gen Z protestors in America could learn a lot from their peers in South Asia. (Photo by Garatka-Studio/Envato Elements)
Kian Amininejad is the News Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, @Kian_Amininejad.
