October 28, 2025
ISLAMABAD – IN many parts of the world, including South Asia, Generation Z has emerged as a political force to be reckoned with. Gen Z refers to those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. In almost every continent their protests have led to the ouster of governments or put rulers on notice of the price they have to pay for misgovernance. Popular demonstrations led predominantly by youth have been sweeping the world since the ‘Aragalya’ movement in Sri Lanka in 2022. Mass student protests produced the downfall of the long-entrenched regime of Hasina Wajed in Bangladesh in 2024. This September, Gen Z protests forced the resignation of the Nepalese prime minister.
Earlier this month, youth-led protests helped to topple the government in Madagascar. Gen Z has also been prominent in pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the world to express solidarity with the people of Gaza. In Morocco, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Peru, Gen Z has taken to the streets to voice its rejection of the political status quo.
What lies behind this global wave of youth discontent? The drivers and triggers of these protests vary as do the underlying causes because the issues and political contexts are different and specific to each country. But there are common features. The protests are principally against the abuse of power, authoritarian governance, incompetent rule, elite privileges, nepotism, corruption, rising inequality and joblessness amid deteriorating economic conditions.
These protests have occurred in countries with youthful populations so demographics is an obvious consequential factor. The use of social media platforms as mobilising avenues is also a common characteristic for a generation that has grown up in the age of communication technology and internet, and is adept at using these tools to spread their message and rally support. Digital protests have played a pivotal role in all Gen Z political movements.
A familiar target of Gen Z’s anger is what are popularly known as political ‘nepo-babies’ or ‘nepo-kids’. A political nepo-baby is described as a beneficiary of nepotism — the offspring of someone who achieves high political office and ascends to power by virtue of that (a familiar phenomenon in Pakistan). Nepo-babies also includes spouses or siblings, who make it in politics due to family connections. It extends to their children (nepo-kids) who reap benefits from their parents’ position and lead a life of ostentatious luxury. The domination of political systems by dynasties is generally resented by Gen Z as it is the antithesis of meritocracy, which young people aspire to for their societies. A privileged DNA that advantages nepo-babies reinforces political monopolies, that Gen Z take exception to and associate with corruption.
Antipathy towards nepo-babies has been evident in protests in several countries including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In Nepal, anger against the plush lifestyle of children of political leaders played a key role in revving up Gen Z protests. Hashtag #nepokids in social media found tens of thousands of followers. Posts of privileged offspring of politicians photographed with their luxury cars and designer accessories went viral. This offered a sharp contrast to the living conditions of ordinary Nepalese and contributed to protesters’ fury. In Indonesia too #nepobabies became a social media trend.
The demonstration effect of Gen Z protests has been widely noted. Youth protesters in one country have been inspired by and learnt lessons from others. The revolt against the status quo and demand for change obviously connects protesters in solidarity across different countries. In media interviews, protesters in Nepal, for example, said they were inspired by the youth movement in Bangladesh and demonstrations in Indonesia. Madagascar’s youth looked to Nepal as an example to emulate. Some have called these “contagious uprisings”. The lexicon of young protesters has also been similar.
In Bangladesh the spark that fuelled student-led mass demonstrations was discriminatory quotas for public sector jobs. Although the courts abolished the quotas that did not end the protests. The ‘July uprising’ morphed into a movement against the government and attracted wider public support. Popular discontent with the government had been building up over the years on several counts, including Hasina’s autocratic conduct, corruption and youth unemployment. When a violent crackdown on demonstrators left hundreds dead, it provoked furious protests and led to a nationwide civil disobedience movement. This culminated in the toppling of Hasina Wajed’s government. Student leaders were part of a coalition that influenced the army to name Muhammed Yunus as interim prime minister.
In Nepal, the trigger for Gen Z protests was a social media ban by the government. This was seen as an effort to muzzle freedom of expression and silence dissent. Again, there were deeper causes for discontent — a governing elite out of touch with the people, social inequality, corruption, and deteriorating economic conditions. A crackdown on youth demonstrators, that claimed scores of lives, only intensified the protests. They eventually forced the resignation of prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
In Madagascar, water shortages and power cuts were the trigger for the unrest and youth-led protests. But the backdrop was the country’s poverty, public revulsion for nepotism and long-standing grievances with bad governance. Protests led to the fall of the government and a military coup. Morocco, too, has witnessed youth-led protests calling for better healthcare and education. An online group named Gen Z 212, representing a grassroots movement, organised the protests which were driven by resentment against corruption and inequality. This compelled the government to announce social reforms.
The various youth-led protests have produced varying outcomes. They range from the ouster of governments and promise of reforms to military coups. None of the outcomes — thus far — have involved a fundamental break from the status quo or yielded the social changes hoped for by Gen Z protesters. This may be disappointing. But they have put governments on notice about the consequences they face for their misrule, corruption and incompetence. In marginalising established political parties by their protests, Gen Z has also shown how out of touch they are with public grievances and unless they reinvent themselves, they might become politically irrelevant. In any case, all indications are that Gen Z protests will continue as a global trend.
The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.