I wasn’t sure I would see my children again: Radio Nepal journalist

Massive youth-led protests engulfed Nepal in recent days, triggered by anger over corruption, nepotism, unemployment, and attempts to stifle dissent through a controversial social media bill, and the subsequent ban of 26 social media apps.

At the heart of the unrest is Gen-Z, demanding accountability, transparency, and better opportunity. In an exclusive conversation with The Federal, senior journalist Yashoda Adhikari from Radio Nepal shares her firsthand account of the protests, the violence, and what it all means for the future of Nepal.

You recently faced a dangerous situation during the protests. What exactly happened?

There has been a movement by the Gen-Z in Nepal with hundreds of thousands of people rising up, attacking government residences, offices, ministers, and even the Prime Minister's residence.

Radio Nepal is located on the front side of Singha Durbar, which houses around 25 to 26 ministries, including the PM’s office. We are a public service broadcasting institution. When the Gen-Z protesters began targeting Singha Durbar, including government offices, political party buildings, and parliamentarians, the situation became extremely tense.

Many young Nepalis—both men and women—are going abroad to work. They are working very hard. They want to support Nepal, and they want to be happy and independent. But the conditions here don’t allow them to stay.

At that moment, I wasn’t sure I would make it back home to see my children and family. It was very difficult to stay inside our office. After some hours, I managed to open the door, and along with two of my friends, we escaped from the area. I returned home safely, but it was a terrible experience.

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What triggered these massive protests—was it really about the social media ban?

I think the government was trying to register social media platforms and gave them some time to comply. When they didn’t register, the government banned them. That’s when the movement started.

But the protest wasn’t just about the social media ban. Many young people had other agendas. They were raising their voices against corruption, political parties, and the challenges they face. This bill, in their eyes, was an attempt to silence them.

Beyond censorship, were there deeper economic reasons that drove the youth to the streets?

Absolutely. Gen Z and the younger population feel that political leaders are living luxurious lives while they are denied access to employment, education, healthcare, and other opportunities.

The gap between the leaders and the ordinary youth is huge.

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Kantipur Publications, the biggest media outlet in Nepal, was also attacked and burnt. What does this tell us about the protesters’ intent? Was this frustration or reckless vandalism?

Yes, Kantipur Media is a very big media house in Nepal. It was directly affected. Protesters attacked and set fire to the building. They couldn't run their operations, publish papers, or broadcast news and programs. The entire media house was destroyed.

Other media houses were also affected. Protesters also came to government media outlets like ours. We tried to convince them, telling them, "This is your radio, this is your voice." We tried to communicate that they could express themselves through us.

Attacking and burning media houses like Kantipur was wrong. But it showed both their anger at media outlets for not fully covering their issues, and also reflected reckless vandalism.

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The death toll has risen sharply and hundreds are injured. Do you think the police’s excessive force made things worse?

Yes. When the police used too much force, it only made people angrier. More than 35 people died. The force used by the police only added fuel to the fire.

That’s why the protests turned very violent and spread to cities all over Nepal. The situation became very dangerous.

In a 2014 article, you spoke about the poor working conditions for women journalists in government media. Has anything changed since the new PM came to power in 2015?

Yes, that is a very important question. Over the past 10 years, there has been some change in the field. More journalists are rising and becoming active in the profession.

But their work, future, and salaries are still not secure. Women journalists continue to struggle. They receive low pay, less respect, and face various forms of violence both in the workplace and from news sources.

Their safety is still a big concern. Because of these challenges, some women journalists have left the profession entirely. Many are now at home, with no future in journalism.

Also read: Then Bangladesh, now Nepal: How youth is pushing out regimes in South Asia

Given this bleak picture, what changes do you think are needed to improve employment and reduce youth frustration in Nepal?

I don’t think these protests were orchestrated by outsiders. The anger is real—inside Nepal. People are deeply frustrated.

This is similar to what has been happening in Bangladesh. Youth in both countries want fair jobs and dignity. They want to contribute, but in Nepal, young people are divided and unemployed. They want to work in many professions, but opportunities are lacking.

Now, many young Nepalis—both men and women—are going abroad to work. They are working very hard. They want to support Nepal, and they want to be happy and independent. But the conditions here don’t allow them to stay.

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Some have drawn parallels between the Nepal protests and those in Bangladesh last year. Are they similar?

Change does not happen overnight. We want to hope that the new interim Prime Minister, if he listens to the youth, addresses corruption, and creates jobs, then things can get better.

But if leaders keep repeating the same mistakes, the protests will return. The youth are very angry.

Also read: Nepal faces unprecedented crisis; can stability return before further damage?

Finally, what do you think lies ahead for Nepal’s Gen Z under the new interim government?

Gen Z has been divided into different groups. One group recently organized a press meet and nominated former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their choice for Prime Minister. But other Gen Z groups didn’t agree with that and are currently protesting in front of the army headquarters.

If the new government cannot manage these Gen Z groups and their agendas, the political situation in Nepal will become very dangerous and unstable.

The content above has been transcribed from video using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.