Nepal's Gen Z uprising took their loved ones, families look to election for change
Record ID:
2360356
Nepal's Gen Z uprising took their loved ones, families look to election for change
- Title: Nepal's Gen Z uprising took their loved ones, families look to election for change
- Date: 3rd March 2026
- Summary: KATHMANDU, NEPAL (FILE - SEPTEMBER 16, 2025) (REUTERS) BANNER WITH PICTURES AND NAMES OF NEPAL PROTEST MARTYRS MOTHER OF RASHIK KHATIWADA, 23, WHO DIED IN 2025 ANTI-CORRUPTION PROTESTS THAT TOPPLED THE GOVERNMENT, RACHANA KHATIWADA, AND OTHER WOMEN CRYING OVER COFFIN FRAMED PHOTOGRAPH OF KHATIWADA PLACED IN FRONT OF COFFIN BAGMATI RIVER FLOWING / PEOPLE STANDING ON RIVERBA
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Balendra Shah GenZ Nepal Rachana Khatiwada arson change clash conflict deaths elections forces martyers mother parliament police polls protest security violence youth
- Location: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
- City: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
- Country: Nepal
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001974901032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: On an afternoon last September, 23-year-old student Rashik Khatiwada joined a sea of protesters in Nepal's capital, holding a placard demanding reform. Within two hours, he was shot dead.
Khatiwada was one of 77 people killed in two days of youth-led protests against corruption and unemployment, an uprising that forced the resignation of then Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and set the stage for Thursday's general election.
The protests have left lasting scars but also reignited hopes among many Nepalis for political transformation. Families of the victims are now at the forefront.
"We voted for Congress and the Communists, but what did they do? They killed our children," said Rachana Khatiwada, Rashik's mother. "What was our children's fault? They were only standing with placards demanding a corruption-free government."
This widespread dissatisfaction has fuelled the rise of outsider candidates like 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, now a leading contender for prime minister. Shah's campaign is backed by figures like Rachana Khatiwada, who, though not contesting for parliament, is running as a proportional representation candidate for the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which Shah joined in January.
After years of being largely indifferent to politics, Khatiwada said her decision to join the RSP was driven by a motivation to seek justice for her son and families of others killed in the protests.
A state-appointed commission charged with conducting an investigation into the protests, including the use of live ammunition against young demonstrators, has received three extensions to complete the probe. Its final findings are expected to be released after the general election.
The uprising's victims include 34-year-old artist Binod Maharjan, who left home abruptly on the morning of September 8, skipping breakfast.
“How much more can I cry now? His memories don’t fade. I feel like he is sitting next to me and having his meal,” said Binod’s mother Lata Maya Maharjan, 75.
The family only discovered he had joined the swelling protests after Binod's elder brother received a phone call from one of his sibling's childhood friends and rushed to Kathmandu's Everest Hospital.
Binod had dropped out of school early but pursued art with a passion. Murals that he painted cover nearly every surface of his family's three-storied brick house.
Inside, he slept on a yak hide, with horns on the edge of his pillow. The walls of his room feature a hand-drawn map of Nepal and a depiction of Shiva, the Hindu deity he worshipped.
"Nepal should be able to create jobs. If we are able to achieve these, protests like this (GenZ uprising) will hopefully never happen again," said Binod’s brother, Kaji Ratna Maharjan, who like his mother plans to vote on Thursday.
Parbati Subedi, a 28-year-old widow, works as a domestic helper in the early mornings before starting her day job in the cleaning department at one of Nepal's largest corporations.
The schedule is gruelling but it earns her 30,000 Nepalese rupees ($206) a month to help sustain herself and her daughter after the death of her 29-year old husband in the September uprising after taking a bullet to the stomach.
“If RSP (Rastriya Swatantra Party) wins then they will definitely do something good. My heart says that their victory will make the souls of those martyred in the uprising happy," said Subedi.
She has received the 1.5 million rupees compensation that an interim government, which took over after Oli's exit, has provided to the families of 42 of the 77 killed that it declared martyrs.
But other promises, including employment opportunities for family members, long-term medical support and pension provisions, are yet to be fulfilled, according to several family members of those killed, including Subedi
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