Nowhere is the impact of the abrupt closure of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">USAID in Nepal</a> more symbolic than inside the Chobhar Dry Port. Hundreds of abandoned blue-plated SUVs and two-wheelers are parked like a car dealership in suburban America. Across Kathmandu, an estimated 600 homes, apartments and offices rented by USAID personnel, consultants and contractors are now vacant. It is a similar story in Surkhet, a hub for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">US-funded development projects</a> in far western Nepal. Some domestic airlines have cut daily flights between Kathmandu and Surkhet because there are fewer passengers flying for fieldwork.&nbsp; With so many cars and motorcycles off the roads, Nepal is actually saving an estimated 200,000 litres of petrol and diesel a month, worth nearly Rs30 million. The Dry Port itself is earning Rs100 per vehicle per day in parking fees. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-end-of-aid">impact of the USAID shutdown</a> has therefore reverberated not just across Nepal’s development agencies, but has hit the economy through downstream impact on the private sector. The United States was the second country to establish bilateral relations with Nepal in 1947, even before Nepal forged diplomatic ties with India and China. US development assistance to Nepal began with the Point Four Program in 1951, and early projects through USOM (US Operations Mission) which supported infrastructure, agriculture, and malaria eradication. Early US aid programs in Chitwan cleared the jungles so that once <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-insect-that-changed-nepal-s-history">malaria </a>was eradicated, it facilitated King Mahendra’s strategy of transmigration of entire mountain villages to the Inner Tarai valleys. The American-aided Rapti Project was so wasteful and the benefit to locals was so minimal that researchers and historians concluded in books and journal articles that it planted the seeds of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ghosts-of-war"> the Maoist insurgency</a> in the mid-western mountains. Later, US aid was critical in linking Dadeldhura to the Tarai and connecting Chitwan to Hetauda, and also in the development of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-to-make-nepals-skies-safer">Nepal’s civil aviation </a>with the donation of World War II vintage DC-3s to Royal Nepal Airlines. Early American aid also focussed on higher education with teacher training, production of teaching materials, and scholarships for Nepali students to pursue university degrees in the US. In 2022, USAID and Nepal signed a five-year Development Objective Agreement worth $659 million for Direct Financing projects in four sectors: health, agriculture, education, and inclusive policy. But soon after Donald Trump was sworn in for his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trump-s-second-coming">second term earlier this year</a>, the USAID funding freeze left about 40 projects across the country in limbo. Many Nepali staff lost their jobs, while other partners scrambled to fulfil project goals. Much of the discussion surrounding development aid centred on how much money was actually spent in rural Nepal, and how much was recycled back to America through consultants, or was spent in Kathmandu by contractors.&nbsp; “A significant portion of funds from USAID went to American contractors, and there was a lack of transparency about how much of the budget actually trickled down to<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ex-guerrilla-s-revolution-in-rural-nepal"> rural Nepal</a>,” says economist Sujeev Shakya. While the intended beneficiaries of US development assistance did not gain as much due to tied aid and leakage along the way, the funding cut has left Nepal’s underserved communities without access to basic services, as well as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">opportunities for livelihood and empowerment</a>.&nbsp; A retired Nepali diplomat posted in Washington DC told Nepali Times that although many have reason to be cynical about USAID work in Nepal, the closure of the agency is a “huge loss” for the development sector.&nbsp; America’s withdrawal from the global scene has also prompted other European countries to rethink development aid. Britain’s FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office) has drastically reduced its aid budget, impacting projects in Nepal. Germany has also cut development funding and diverted the money to defence.&nbsp; This has prompted Nepal’s development experts to advise reducing reliance on foreign aid, especially as the nation is also set to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/not-poor-but-not-rich">graduate from LDC status</a> next year. Indeed, total annual foreign aid to Nepal in grants and loans of about $1 billion a year compared to remittances of $12 billion last year. “Nepal has adequate resources, both financial and human, to fill the gap left by donors,” says Min Raj Gyawali, who was Deputy Chief of Party of USAID’s Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) program for Nepal. “What we need to do to implement our development projects successfully is better organisation, management, set achievable goals, have better coordination between local and federal authorities, and use our internal revenue more effectively.”&nbsp; To get out of its dependency syndrome, Nepal needs to look no further than its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/understanding-nepals-underspending">unspent annual development budget</a>. “It is is no use crying over the loss of American aid when we are unable to spend 70% of our own annual budget every year,” says Shakya.&nbsp; After shutting down USAID, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/trump-s-first-month">Trump administration</a> transferred the work of overseas development assistance to the State Department, and this could mean that it may rethink a scaled down and more selective aid program in future that aligns with strategic US foreign policy goals. The US is not unique in this. Australia’s foreign aid program AUSAID was integrated to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 2014, while DFID, the UK department responsible for administering overseas aid until 2020, was merged with the foreign office to form the FCDO. “The US still needs to maintain and protect its strategic interests across the world,” says Shakya. “This means that the closure of USAID might not be permanent, and it may be integrated with other development programs in future.” Adds Gyawali: “One lesson to be learnt from the USAID closure is that we might be faced with a similar situation anytime in future, so we must always have a back-up plan in the event that any donor pulls out of ongoing development projects. We now need to focus on funding diversity rather than relying on any one donor, and we need multi-sectoral strategies to meet and manage funding for ongoing and future development programs.” <h2>USAID cut affects access to safe sex</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250904090924_61f40fb3e850ccc8a403a42283da74cd668bbd52a7c3f24966cb27ac2cdde4c8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250904090924_61f40fb3e850ccc8a403a42283da74cd668bbd52a7c3f24966cb27ac2cdde4c8" data-rendition-name="original" width="5184" height="3456" loading="lazy" alt="USNOAID"> <figcaption>Photo: USAID / FLICKR</figcaption> </figure>  The absence of USAID funds in the 10 months since its shutdown has hit Nepal’s health sector the most. The resource gap has affected crucial programs supporting nutrition, reproductive health, and tuberculosis prevention. As much as 60% of USAID funds were said to support health-related projects. &nbsp; Programs aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality, especially for neonatal care, have been seriously undermined. The impact on nutrition programs for schools could mean that childhood malnutrition in Nepal could see a surge. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump shock wave hits Nepal</a>, Sudiksha Tuladhar One of the programs affected was USAID-funded five-year Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) project led by CARE Nepal in partnership with the government and other non-profits to empower Nepalis aged 10-19 through behaviour change efforts, group-based interventions, and girl-led activism for reproductive health and social norms change.&nbsp; “All our plans had been made around the guarantee of external support, so training, exposure, and capacity enhancement programs were stopped,” explains Min Raj Gyawali, who was Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) for the ARH program. “The short-term, accelerated learning course to send out-of-school girls back to school was continued after reorganisation of funds from other partners, but the community adolescent forums made to facilitate discussions about their health have largely come to an end.”&nbsp; But among the hardest hit health programs in Nepal are ones aimed at<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12340"> HIV prevention</a>. Nepal’s progress over the past decades in addressing HIV and AIDS is now at serious risk since USAID involvement in HIV screening, preventative medication, and condom distribution has discontinued.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250905170924_9770df4ba9e7da64b118504833afc3726b7dce50d05f2bf2b8f6d26b29773e00.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250905170924_9770df4ba9e7da64b118504833afc3726b7dce50d05f2bf2b8f6d26b29773e00" data-rendition-name="original" width="1368" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="USNOAID NT"> </figure>  Key populations at risk of HIV including sex workers, their clients, women whose husbands and partners are living with HIV were supported with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Data from the NCASC shows there are 30,300 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nepal as of 2024. Meanwhile, up to 86,809 cisgender female, 25,955 cisgender men who have sex with men, and 14,250 transgender women are involved in sex work across the country.&nbsp; HIV screening also came to a standstill following the funding freeze, but the government has restarted it with help from other development partners, says Lok Raj Pandey of the National Centre for AIDS and STI Control.&nbsp; Antiretroviral therapy services, which are provided for free for people with HIV by the government, have not been impacted, say officials. A total of 25, 728 infected people are currently on antiretroviral therapy.&nbsp; “<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4128">HIV testing and counselling services</a> have resumed at the 96 antiretroviral therapy treatment centres across Nepal,” adds Pandey, “But a shortage of PreP medication and condoms persists." Government officials say that they can not definitively say if HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases have increased in the last 10 months. But civil society organisations that support sex workers disagree. “We have have already begun to note a rise in sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea, and a rise in HIV infections in the last 10 months,” says Tulsi Gandhari, chair of the Janahit Mahila Mahasang, Nepal’s national federation of female sex workers. “The situation for people engaged is sex work has become increasingly dire, and a sustained lack of condoms is only going to make things worse.” “The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-far-from-hitting-contraceptive-target">shortage of condoms</a> has also meant that female sex workers have to use emergency contraceptives like pills after the fact, continued usage of which will have lasting damage on their general and reproductive health in the long run,” Gandhari adds.&nbsp; Experts are concerned about the rise of not just HIV, but other life-threatening sexually-transmitted diseases like cervical cancer and Hepatitis B.&nbsp; 95-95-95 Despite government assurance that testing for HIV and sexually-transmitted infections have resumed, non-profits point to the unavailability of large-scale, free-of-cost screening. Meanwhile, condoms have been distributed by organisations that support family planning and HIV prevention, but it is not nearly enough to meet daily needs for the sex worker community.&nbsp; “Sex workers face daily risks to their health and physical safety, and the funding gap has left them without essential services,” adds Rajan KC of Janahit Mahila Mahasang. “The lack of timely testing, contraceptives, outreach, and peer educators for moral support increases this risk.” The UNAIDS ’95-95-95’ target aims to ensure that 95% of people living with HIV are aware of their status, 95% of those diagnosed receive antiretroviral therapy, and 95% of those on treatment achieve viral suppression by 2030. Nepal’s National HIV Strategic Plan 2021-2026 outlines a fast track approach towards ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health by achieving the 95-95-95 targets by 2026.&nbsp; But with the lack of preventative support and robust screening services, experts are not so optimistic about Nepal’s HIV outcomes.&nbsp; The risk of exposure to HIV among sex workers and their clients brought about by the absence of essential services also increases the chances of exposure to pregnant women and the wider community. “If we continue on the same trajectory for another few months, we run the risk of rolling back our progress with HIV prevention,” cautions KC. “The government has not been serious enough to address this possibility.” The lack of counselling and peer support has also led to a rise in violence and social stigmatisation in vulnerable communities, note experts. The absence of free treatment centres and clinics mean that sex workers have to seek sexual and reproductive healthcare at public and private institutions, where they are often subject to hostile and discriminatory rhetoric from service providers and fellow patients. Trans sex workers are subject to even more scrutiny, ridicule, vitriol, and bigotry.&nbsp; This stigmatisation, in addition to the costs associated with repeated visits for HIV and STI-related health concerns, prevents sex workers from accessing essential healthcare. “We urgently need free clinics so that sex workers are not met with an unfriendly environment whenever they seek healthcare,” says Gandhari.&nbsp; Pandey of the NCASC says officials are looking into how they can resume the free-of-cost sexual health services that have stopped, noting that USAID was not Nepal’s only partner in HIV and STI preventative support. America has also not completely pulled out of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-lagging-in-safe-motherhood">sexual and reproductive health support</a>, he adds. Last week, the US embassy in Nepal met with partners in the health sector to maintain America’s commitment to health projects in Nepal, saying that regional officials would helm USAID’s legacy health programs.&nbsp; ‘Together, we will continue lifesaving work in HIV/AIDS, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/target-2030-for-maternal-and-newborn-health">maternal &amp; child health</a>, and global health security,’ the embassy wrote in a statement on social media. ‘Working closely with the Government of Nepal and donors, the United States is committed to strengthening health systems and promoting Nepal’s self-reliance in delivering quality services.’

Shristi Karki

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<img width="816" height="544" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08dd9c7e80680e0a6041jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Soni is a 13-year-old in Banke district in the western Tarai, and she is the second of eight children in her Muslim family. She has been hearing impaired since she was born.Soni attended primary school as a child but had to drop out because it lacked the resources to support children with disabilities. Her parents, unaware of any institutions that might be able to help their daughter learn, kept her at home, where she helped her parents by doing household work as well as helping out in the fields. At home, Soni communicated with her family through signs that family members taught themselves. But it had become increasingly difficult for her to communicate with people outside her family without learning Nepali sign language.Soni’s life took a turn for the better when she enrolled in British aid group VSO Nepal’s ‘Empowering a New Generation of Adolescent Girls with Education’ (ENGAGE) programme which supports 2,660 out-of-school girls in Nepal, including those living with disabilities.Most are from the Tarai’s marginalised communities, and they get skill-development training, tlearn about sexual and reproductive health, raising awareness about support available for girls with disabilities, and enabling the young participants to rejoin formal schooling through nine-month ‘bridge’ classes. <img width="1430" height="953" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08e09c7e80680e0a6042jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="668" height="445" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08e39c7e80680e0a6043jpeg.jpg" alt="">Photos: MAHIM ARYALStories like those of Soni in Nepal will be the focus of GPE (the Global Partnership for Education) and its two-day Global Education Summit: Financing GPE 2021-2025, co-hosted by the UK and Kenya held 28-29 July online.The summit is the culmination of GPE’s 'Raise Your Hand’ financing campaign to secure $5billion over five years to support education systems across low-income countries. This will help 175 million girls and boys to learn, reach 140 million more students with professionally trained teachers, enroll 88 million more children in school, and help governments save $16 billion through more efficient spending.A key focus of the investment is to reach and support marginalised children across the world, including girls and children with disabilities.Although Nepal has shown progress in female school enrolment over the years, young girls with disabilities find it significantly harder to get a formal education due to a lack of resources and a proper support system.However, young female volunteers have been mobilising across rural communities to support young Nepali girls with disabilities to continue their education.‘Big Sisters’ working within the ENGAGE programme mentor their ‘Little Sisters’ like Soni. The Big Sisters are part of VSO’s Sisters for Sisters’ Education initiative, wherein older girls are recruited as volunteers to mentor younger ones within their communities and guide them through adolescence, ensure they remain within the formal education system and teach them life skills. The project is currently working to support 9,800 adolescent girls to transition from primary to secondary education. Soni’s Big Sister encouraged her to attend the bridge class, where Soni learned basic math and language. Just as she had back in primary school, Soni diligently attended classes. Soni also began to show an interest in drawing and likes to copy the mehendi designs from her workbook.Soni’s parents were initially sceptical about continuing with her formal education since it meant that she would need to stay in the school hostel due to the distance. But her Big Sister, after regular visits to her home, eventually convinced her parents to let her attend school. Now, Soni attends the Rastriya Adharbhut Basic school in Banke’s Khajura rural municipality. At school, Soni could learn Nepali Sign Language, which has significantly helped her learning process. Soni is now a happily adjusted young girl who participates actively in remedial classes, sports, as well as arts and crafts.Sahajan,16, from rural Sarlahi is also hearing-impaired. She has five siblings, and her Muslim family operates a laundry business.Through VSO community volunteers in her community, Sahajan and her parents had been attending preparatory classes organised to teach children with hearing impairments and their families Nepali Sign Language as well as to help the children continue their formal education.The Covid-19 lockdowns stopped the preparatory classes, but Sahajan, who had learned to recognize words from letters by this point, was keen to continue.Her Big Sister from VSO Nepal, along with a national volunteer, helped Sahajan to continue practising learning at home during the pandemic, showing her Nepali sign-language videos created by VSO volunteers.  <img width="347" height="462" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08e59c7e80680e0a6044jpeg.jpg" alt="">During the pandemic, VSO mobilised community volunteers to tailor health advice and other support for people with disabilities in Sarlahi, Parsa and Banke districts. For the hard of hearing, to whom the government’s Covid-related public health messages are largely inaccessible, volunteers developed Nepali sign-language resources, including specially adapted sim cards, with important information about how to stay safe during the pandemic.  Sahajan’s parents can communicate with and support their daughter better at home now that they can communicate with her through Nepali sign language However, like Soni’s parents in Banke, Sahajan’s parents were hesitant to send their daughter to the classes when it was time to discuss continuing her formal education. But regular home visits and advice from Sahajan’s Big Sister helped convince them to send their daughter to Srimati Laxmi Devi School in Sarlahi. “I never thought that my daughter would be able to go to school and have a formal education like other children,” says Sahajan’s mother. Now, Sahajan is looking forward to continuing her higher education, and wants to help teach other children with hearing difficulties Nepali sign languages in the future.

Sisterhoods empowering education in Nepal

<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/waiting-for-bipin-joshi" target="_blank">Nepali student Bipin Joshi</a>, who was taken captive by Hamas on 7 October 2023, was not on the list of those freed following the end of the bombardment and fighting in Gaza.&nbsp; On Monday morning, the Israeli military notified Bipin's family and Nepal’s ambassador to Israel Dhan Prasad Pandit, that there is no evidence of him still being alive. However, Nepal's Foreign Ministry is yet to be notified by Israel's government of Bipin's status. The news came three days after a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, and hostage and prisoner exchanges by the two sides started Monday morning.&nbsp; Almost 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisions are expected to be released by Israel in exchange for the hostages during the next phase of the peace deal between the two parties, and the bodies of deceased hostages remaining in Gaza are also expected to be returned.&nbsp; Bipin Joshi was among a group of Nepalis who had arrived in Israel in 2023 just weeks before 7 October 2023 as part of a ‘learn and earn’ program to work and earn in kibbutz farms there.&nbsp; Along with other students Joshi had been working on a farm in Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel near Gaza. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/war-in-israel-earthquake-and-grief-in-nepal">Ten Nepali students were killed </a>while taking cover in shelters near their farms in two separate attacks by Hamas fighters.&nbsp; Joshi’s colleagues, fellow Nepalis who survived the attack, recall gunmen lobbing two grenades into the bunker that they had taken cover in. Bipin hurled one of the grenades out, they say, but the other one exploded, killing and injuring Nepalis inside. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shortly after, Bipin was captured by Hamas along with a Thai national and led away into Gaza. CCTV footage showed Bipin alive and at a hospital in Gaza on the day of the attack itself after he was taken hostage.&nbsp; Thirty-one Thai citizens, who like Nepalis worked in farms in Israel, were taken hostage during the Hamas attack, the highest number of foreign captives in October 2023.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deft-diplomacy-freed-thai-hostages">Deft Thai diplomatic engagement</a> with officials from Iran, Egypt, and Qatar brought about the release of 23 of its nationals in 2023. Five more Thai nationals were released earlier this year.&nbsp; In August, Joshi’s family visited Israel at the invitation of the government and urged the international community to push for his return. Bipin’s mother Padma and sister Pushpa have been at the United Nations to lobby for his release.&nbsp; His family last week also released a video clip of Bipin briefly speaking on camera, reportedly obtained by Israel and said to be filmed in November 2023, around a month after he was taken captive. Joshi looks healthy in that video.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251013091028_d551c7f88204c52217152fb5db655bb5a5f8bf2cff1e6a055326ebf64453ff9f.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251013091028_d551c7f88204c52217152fb5db655bb5a5f8bf2cff1e6a055326ebf64453ff9f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2848" height="1528" loading="lazy" alt="Bipin Joshi NT"> </figure>  More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed during the last two years of the genocide in Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, while more than 251, including Bipin Joshi, were taken as captives.&nbsp; This is the third ceasefire implemented in Gaza since 7 October 2023 after previous ones in November 2023 and January 2025. This 20-point deal facilitated by intermediaries US, Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt included terms for Hamas to give up its arms, and for a devastated Gaza to be governed by a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, while Israeli troops will withdraw in stages from Gaza.&nbsp; Hamas has agreed to relinquish control of Gaza, but has rejected the demand for disarmament, saying the group will demobilise but is prepared to resume fighting if Israel breaches the ceasefire.&nbsp; Following the ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza have begun long journeys back to homes reduced to rubble by Israel’s two-year assault on the strip. The flow of humanitarian aid in the city has also increased following the peace deal.&nbsp; Israel's closure of humanitarian corridors in the past months had blocked the entry of food and medicine into Gaza, causing widespread famine. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said that the restriction of aid into the beseiged city has left as many as <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/news-releases/gaza-unrwa%E2%80%99s-lancet-study-reveals-alarming-surge-child-malnutrition">54,600 children acutely malnourished</a>.&nbsp; Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump landed in Israel on Monday as hostages were being released, and world leaders are expected to head to Egypt for an international summit to discuss the next steps in Gaza, Israel, and West Asia.&nbsp;

Nepali hostage in Gaza not alive: Israel

Already trying to balance youth demands with legal provisions in the Constitution, Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s interim government faced yet another challenge over Dasain: a receding monsoon dumped unseasonal rain unleashing floods and landslides that killed at least 60, mostly in eastern Nepal.&nbsp; The government was rated positively for its early warning and the ‘visibility’ of its disaster response, with many comparing it to the inaction of the NC-UML coalition during last year’s floods.&nbsp; Government agencies and police proactively closed off hazardous sections of highways as Kathmandu was marooned from the rest of the country in the peak holiday season. Stranded passengers were taken care of, with police, army and local governments in Ilam coordinating rescue and relief efforts. Many of the problems were structural and inherited from decades of neglect and corruption in highway contracts. Shoddy bridges and encroachment of settlements along river banks have increased risk from more frequent extreme weather caused by climate breakdown. With Dasain over Tihar around the corner and the worst of the disaster behind, the Karki administration is trying to balance the separate demands of GenZ movers and shakers who installed her in office with constitutional provisions. It has not helped that the badly-mauled political parties are spoiling for a fight, and the three top leaders show little signs of stepping down. “Nepal’s movement did not happen in a democratic vacuum, so this government walks a very fine line in political legitimacy," says Bidushi Dhungel of the National Democratic Institute in Nepal. "In this fragile space, whatever the work done — or not done— by the interim government within its limited mandate, it may open up avenues for further dissent from old and new actors. They are &nbsp;caught between a rock and a hard place.” Civil society activists issued a statement on Wednesday calling on the main political parties to heed the writing on the wall and reform themselves. Signed by professor Krishna Khanal and former ambassador Keshab Mathema, the statement said: 'The main leaders of the main parties should say sorry, and voluntarily resign ... they must respect public sentiments and work to reform and transform their parties to be more accountable to the public, or risk being irrelevant.'&nbsp; Complicating matters further are the sometimes contradictory demands of various GenZ factions on punishing those responsible for the carnage and rampage of 8-9 September, Constitution and elections. Karki faces calls to immediately detain former PM KP Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak for their involvement in the massacre outside Parliament. Under pressure from GenZ delegates, Home Minister Om Aryal fired off a letter to the police to arrest Oli and Lekhak. But later at a confrontational midnight meeting at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar, all four security chiefs advised Karki that arresting the UML and NC ex-ministers could unleash violent confrontation on the streets. The interim government is in a bind. It has formed a committee headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki to investigate the killings last month as well as the arson and vandalism that followed. The question is: should it wait for the committee to submit its report before punishing perpetrators, or let police arrest those who can easily be identified in social media posts setting fire to Singha Darbar, the Supreme Court and other sites.&nbsp; GenZ’s Sudan Gurung faction has gone beyond its original demand to submit an 8-point ultimatum that includes the sacking of the Chief Justice and officials of the anti-corruption bureau.&nbsp; The Prime Minister is caught in the crossfire between managing the expectations of a movement that appointed her, and working within the framework of her interim government’s mandate and Constitution. But it is not just the government that faces challenges. The lack of clear consensus among youth factions and their outspoken collectives is surfacing.&nbsp; &nbsp;“This has been a leaderless and decentralised movement, and the traditional variables typically seen in a political revolt seem missing here," notes political scientist Sucheta Pyakuryal. “There is no organised structure, nor any ideological pull factor, therefore a big question is how much bargaining power does a movement like this have, and how sustainable will it be.” GenZ leaders seem to be in two main camps. Demands like the one for a directly elected prime minister, and the constitutional processes that can make for such an outcome, have emerged as a major point dividing the movement.&nbsp; Nepalis both within and outside the youth movement are watching Hami Nepal’s Sudan Gurung closely — especially after his recent interview with Al-Jazeera during which he expressed his interest to run for Prime Minister and seemed to not accept a win by political parties in the March elections.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251009201044_fcba7e92bb9a8812fd0ad4e9770d6f4d4189972de5229f91e9a832a26e388901.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251009201044_fcba7e92bb9a8812fd0ad4e9770d6f4d4189972de5229f91e9a832a26e388901" data-rendition-name="original" width="2916" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="One month on NT"> <figcaption>GROUND ZERO: The destroyed centre of Nepal's government with Singha Darbar (in green scaffolding), the Attorney General's Office, Supreme Court, and in the distance, Parliament building. Also seen are the nearly finished new Parliament Complex and the new Supreme Court buildings. Drone shot taken on Thursday morning. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Gurung’s participation in the NDRRMA’s disaster management meeting and manner of his interaction with officials at the event was met with both bouquets and brickbats. Interestingly, some of the criticism was youth activists themselves. &nbsp;“There's a lot of self-involvement and self-importance that seems to be guiding a fragmented young leadership, as opposed to constructively engaging in how to concretise reforms,” says Dhungel. “There seems to be very little stocktaking of what's happened in the past, and what's happened in other countries to try identify where lapses could be before they occur."&nbsp; In the absence of unified positions and level-headed leadership, the youth who spearheaded post-protest negotiations, as well as the GenZ movement in general, risk losing public goodwill already dented by the destruction of state property on 9 September. This also leaves an opening for political parties which are on the defensive and licking their wounds to capitalise on youth discord.&nbsp; Says Pyakuryal: “Post revolution, the political landscape becomes extremely unpredictable and therefore there is a risk of co-optation from several Machiavellian political actors including political parties, monarchists, as well as other forces, and that is concerning.” The immediate and visible transformation that Nepal’s youth expect will not manifest right away, and while there is a need for long-term political planning, the caretaker government must also undertake measures that have a palpable impact on the daily life of citizens. &nbsp;&nbsp; “While youth frustrations must be addressed urgently, statecraft isn’t just about fulfilling short-term goals,”says Pyakuryal. &nbsp; Many, including the youth themselves, now see the need for GenZ to have a more united stance and to move beyond making demands that the interim government cannot fulfil and start mobilising for elections — even by forming its own party.&nbsp; A strong showing in elections can enable them to enact the changes they want to strengthen Nepal’s democracy, and make future governments more accountable.&nbsp; This week, the Election Commission announced 16 November as the deadline to register new parties for the 5 March polls.&nbsp; Youth representatives have said that they want to be active participants in the political process, particularly in national-level politics. The Constitution defines ‘youth’ as being between the ages of 16-40. In the 2022 elections, the Election Commission stated that over 41% of locally-elected representatives were from ages 21-40 years.&nbsp; If young Nepalis are to contest the election outside the banner of mainstream parties, this leaves electoral aspirants little more than a month to decide whether to form a loose coalition with existing parties, a separate political party, or to contest elections independently. “This is first of a kind movement, where political language is digital, not ideological, where organising is done through online platforms and where there is no one leader spearheading the movement,”says Pyakuryal. “I don’t know if ‘anti-corruption’ or ‘political reform’ have a strong enough ideological pull to band people together in the long run.” Indeed, the RSP was formed only four months before the 2022 elections and cashed in on anti-incumbent and anti-corruption sentiments of voters — mainly driven by social media. But controversy and strife within their party means it has largely lost its public trust.&nbsp; Nepal’s September Uprising and its aftermath have shown that a majority of young people are entirely disillusioned with establishment parties and politicians, even using ‘ex-political parties’ as a phrase of reference. Any new young political figures that emerge from this movement and this election will have to work with mainstream parties in a multiparty democracy.&nbsp; &nbsp;“The reality of politics is that change is not possible without engaging with existing political institutions and actors,” says Dhungel. “To say that they do not want to engage, negotiate, or identify allies or proactively seek out input from at least the reform-minded individuals within each of those outfits is political naivety, and may lead to a lack of institutionalised reform.” However, Dhungel notes that the youth leadership would have more agency if they are clear not just on what they want to change, but about whether they are interested in active politics or civic engagement. “The window of opportunity that is fast closing is to really negotiate hard and push for internal reforms within political parties and across the electoral system,” she adds. Pyakurel also adds: “GenZ are smart and politically mature, I hope they see these loopholes. I am optimistic about the direction they take.”

One month on

Scenic Phortse in the lap of Mt Everest is called ‘the village of mountaineers’ because just about every household has someone who has summited the world’s highest mountain multiple times. However, while the international mountaineers they assist to make it to the top go on to fame and glory, their Sherpa guides from Phortse <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/without-sherpas-there-is-no-mountaineering" target="_blank">barely get a mention</a>. It is a risky occupation for Nepal’s high altitude guides, and every other family in this village has lost a member in Himalayan expeditions. Sherpa guides are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities" target="_blank">disproportionately more at risk </a>on Mt Everest because they have to traverse the Khumbu Icefall many times during an expedition. One third of the over 300 climbers who have died climbing Mt Everest are Nepali high altitude guides and porters. In 2014, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/everest-dangerous-place-to-work,1316" target="_blank">16 guides were killed</a> when an avalanche fell on them while going up the treacherous Icefall carrying expedition gear. Then in 2015, the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/big-drops-in-Everest-bookings-affect-livelihoods-of-Nepali-high-altitude-guides,2048" target="_blank">earthquake triggered a massive avalanche</a> that killed 22 climbers at Base Camp. Many of the fatalities in both years were Sherpa guides from Phortse. Despite the danger, Phortse honours and celebrates its climbers like heroes. One such is the late &nbsp;Nima Tshiring Sherpa, who was a porter and guide in the 1953 John Hunt expedition in which Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to set foot on the world’s highest summit.&nbsp; Nima Tshiring and his eldest son Pasang Gyalzen both reached 8,000m carrying expedition gear for the Hunt expedition in 1953. Nima Tshiring had eight sons and a daughter and although he never submitted himself, most of them have climbed Mt Everest at least once. In fact, his children and grandchildren have been to the top of Mt Everest a total of 81 times — a record for any family in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251011171048_a55e45bee2b5bbf38e4ee5bcea101edcc3041f40e331b8fee44e473457f42553.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251011171048_a55e45bee2b5bbf38e4ee5bcea101edcc3041f40e331b8fee44e473457f42553" data-rendition-name="original" width="2144" height="1436" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpa climbers"> <figcaption>Nima Tshiring Sherpa with wife and children in Phortse. An unanmed Everest climber on right.</figcaption> </figure>  “We were born in Phortse which is in the lap of Everest, our identity is Chomolungma,” says one of his sons, Panuru, using the Sherpa name for the mountain. “In fact, I feel our entire family was born to climb Everest.”&nbsp; Phortse has a population of 350 people living in 95 households. Besides Nima Tshiring’s clan, more than 75 of the inhabitants have climbed Everest, many of them multiple times.&nbsp; Another one of Nima Tshiring’s sons, Ngawang climbed Everest 11 times, his brother Mingma Dorje has summited 14 times, and another brother Ngati not only got to the top seven times, but was the first climber to reach the peak from the Chinese side and descend down the Nepal part of Mt Everest. Ngati was killed in an avalanche on Annapurna while climbing with an American expedition in 1993.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251011171044_60693527b31aba22fe6f6c233cf367a3683b88be8dc2a53bfb5c2c02b2db1e5b.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20251011171044_60693527b31aba22fe6f6c233cf367a3683b88be8dc2a53bfb5c2c02b2db1e5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2242" height="1660" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpa climbers"> <figcaption>Mingma Dorje has climbed Everest 14 times.</figcaption> </figure>  Panuru himself has reached the summit of Everest 16 times, and set up the<a href="https://www.khumbuclimbingcenter.com/" target="_blank"> Khumbu Climbing Centre</a> in 2003 to train others in climbing techniques. Following in his footsteps was another brother Mingma Tshiring, who has been up 15 times and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sherpaland-co-usa" target="_blank">now lives in Colorado</a>.&nbsp; Nima Tshiring’s only daughter Mingma Yanjin has also climbed Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam and other &nbsp;Himalayan mountains. Her husband Lhakpa Chiri Sherpa has climbed Everest 11 times. Counting him, the total summits for the family would be 92. This number also does not include other Himalayan eight-thousanders besides Mt Everest that the family from Phortse has summited. Nima Tsiring’s youngest son is Danuru who has climbed Everest 16 times, and has been on top of North American peaks from his base in Colorado. He is giving Everest yet another try.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251011171048_cd3e2961567ca507fc4110c97e01d85ee1c7e35f787276564ff59a4a76151fe2.png" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20251011171048_cd3e2961567ca507fc4110c97e01d85ee1c7e35f787276564ff59a4a76151fe2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1308" height="980" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpa climbers"> <figcaption>Nima Tshiring Sherpa and his son Danuru.</figcaption> </figure>  Even his grandchildren are following Nima Tshiring’s footsteps up Everest. Panuru’s son Lhakpa has climbed Everest from both sides and wants to break previous Everest records.&nbsp; “It is a dangerous occupation, but the rewards in terms of fame and money are substantial,” says Danuru. “One season’s income is enough for a Phortse climber to support his family for a year. And we have Chomolungma to be thankful for.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251011171048_d1f16e3925890663cadf3e20d955a531f21c479708f662df371fad3fdb87cf7a.png" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20251011171048_d1f16e3925890663cadf3e20d955a531f21c479708f662df371fad3fdb87cf7a" data-rendition-name="original" width="760" height="1040" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpa climbers"> <figcaption>Mingma Chhiring Sherpa who has climbed the Everest 16 times with a client.</figcaption> </figure>

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