Jagan Nath Timilsina has summited <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/mt-everest-grows-by-86cm">Mt Everest</a>, won <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/hurtling-through-the-himalaya">the Great Himalayan Race</a>, climbed rock faces. He now runs multiple tourism businesses and spends his summers teaching in Alaska.&nbsp;
Born and raised in Sarangkot, surrounded by the spectacular panorama of the Annapurnas, Timilsina would hike for hours to school every day.&nbsp;
Timilsina wanted to start working as early as possible. At age 13, he went to India to look for a job but was too young to work security. So he came back to Nepal and became a trekking porter at age 14.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/too-many-mules-on-the-everest-trail">Too many mules on the Everest trail</a>, Alton C. Byers
Ambitious and resourceful, he took advantage of the government’s English language and training programs for trekking guides. Timilsina started out as a guide at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/british-pioneers-of-tourism-in-nepal">Himalayan Encounters</a> in 2004, and covered more than 100 trails in Nepal and Tibet over the next 11 years.
“Many porters become guides and stop,” notes Timilsina. “But I always want to take the next step. So I set my sights on mountaineering and climbing.”
He completed courses offered by the Nepal Mountaineering Association and the Khumbu Climbing Center (KCC), learning about avalanche safety, ice climbing and rescue training. Soon after, Timilsina summited Mt Everest. Since then he has scaled 25 other peaks, often leading expeditions.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/trail-running-trail-blazer">Trail-running trail blazer</a>, Sanghamitra Subba
Timilsina wanted to take his education further, so on the recommendation of teachers he met at the KCC, applied to the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), a non-profit outdoor education school founded in Wyoming. On his second attempt, he got into a 15-person course for instructors. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Timilsina's acceptance into the program was conditional: NOLS were stricter with candidates from Nepal, given the country's poor reputation regarding safety. He was surprised with a test about Wilderness First Aid, which Timilsina had passed in Nepal. This time, he failed. &nbsp;
According to protocol, Timilsina should have been sent home, but the instructors decided to give him a second chance: he could go on with the course, but would be retested after. “The course kept me busy from 6AM to PM, so I would study at night by headlamp, getting by on three hours of sleep,” recalls Timilsina.&nbsp;
The second the course finished, Timilsina was whisked away to give his retake. He needed at least a 75 to pass - he got a 99.&nbsp;
The deal was that the best-performing student in the course was offered employment at the institute. Timilsina had a job starting the very next day, and he has kept it, teaching in Alaska every summer.&nbsp;
He uses his experience to run outdoor education courses in Nepal too, including teaching wilderness skills to children with disabilities.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/run-sunmaya-run">Run, Sunmaya, run</a>, Vishad Raj Onta
“Once, the children were caught in a heavy downpour and I was worried,” recalls Timilsina, “but they assured me that it was nothing compared to what they deal with on the daily basis.”
In 2017, Timilsina won the first edition of the Great Himalayan Race, covering 1,600km in 46 days.&nbsp;
“Much of the race was very easy for me. I would get done with the day’s racing early, and spent the rest of the day taking in the beauty of the untouched valleys and cultures along the route.”
Timilsina now splits his time between Pokhara and Kathmandu, running his travel company Freedom Adventures, his non-profit Freedom Social Foundation, and organising races and training through Himalayan Trail Running.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-trail-running-champions">Nepali trail running champions</a>, Preeti Khattri
Harder than juggling all these ventures is navigating Nepal’s labyrinthine bureaucracy. Timilsina says: “It is frustrating to work in Nepal. To trek to Manang, for example, you need permits from four different entities.”&nbsp;
Outdated laws and arbitrary regulations have made things worse. Adding to the challenge is the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/brain-gain-into-brain-drain">phenomenon of outmigration of the young Nepalis</a>, who are often only holding jobs as they wait for visas to be approved.&nbsp;
Despite all this, Timilsina is still optimistic about the future of Nepal’s tourism. He says: “There is endless potential here, but our attitudes around discipline and hard work need to match our ambitions.”

Vishad Raj Onta

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Juggernaut Timilsina

Smack at the start of the tourist season, the government announced with just two week's notice that effective 1 April all<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18IIsL4twU4W0z3gBVV2Mlnys28y7y-Q4/view?usp=share_link"> trekkers will need to hire licensed guides</a>. It was not an April Fool’s joke.
Talk about bad timing. Even if a ridiculous and unenforceable decision like this was necessary, it should have been made at least one season in advance.&nbsp;
Another such<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/chopper-vs-chauri-below-everest"> ad hoc announcement</a> was made last week by Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality to ban all helicopter cargo flights to Everest Base Camp. The restrictions went into force just as expeditions started arriving in Lukla. Now, there are not enough porters, yak and zopkyo trains for the five-day ferry to base camp.&nbsp;
Some expeditions have already switched from climbing Lhotse to other Himalayan peaks, Icefall Doctors are packed ten to a tent because their gear has not arrived.
The ostensible reason was to protect the environment and provide jobs. But herding has been in steady decline in the Khumbu, leading to a lack of yaks. And many young males from Khotang and Okhaldhunga who used to do portering have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/village-of-the-climbers">migrated to cities</a> or to the Gulf.&nbsp;
No doubt, helicopter traffic over Sagarmatha National Park needs to be regulated. At peak tourist season, the constant sound of choppers flying up and down from Base Camp is a disturbance. Some rescue helicopter operators have been implicated in insurance fraud.
The trekking guide rule was made by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati. It appears to be politically-motivated to appease unions and trekking agencies. If safety was such a concern, how about first making domestic aviation safer? And how come Nepali trekkers do not have to take guides if it is so unsafe?&nbsp;
Foreign hikers need a Trekking Information Management System (TIMS) card before hitting 14 trails, and it is not available without booking a licensed guide.&nbsp;
Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/chopper-vs-chauri-below-everest">Chopper vs Chauri below Everest</a>, Bhadra Sharma
The Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal which has long lobbied for a ‘one trekker one guide’ rule is in on the deal because it will be managing the card and guides. The TIMS card was also devised to keep track of trekkers and provide emergency assistance, and was already being criticised as being redundant.&nbsp;
Adding the guide provision further bureaucratises trekking, adding to hassles visitors already face and increasing chances of extortion and bribery along the trails.&nbsp;
Trekking and mountaineering are about the freedom of the wilderness. Adding more layers of whimsical rules defeats the whole purpose. There are other ways of increasing employment and earnings from tourism by upgrading facilities and convenience, for which many visitors would gladly pay more.&nbsp;
We should not be milking tourists every step of the way with National Park Fees, Municipality Fees, Trekking Permit Fees, TIMS Card fees, guide fees, or charging three times more than locals for flights.
Trekkers found without a TIMS card or a guide will henceforth be fined Rs12,000, and the operators fined Rs10,000. The apprehending officer will get a 20% cut.
Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mt-everest-city">My Everest City</a>, Monika Deupala
Most trekkers to Nepal come in groups, and already hire guides and porters. Only a quarter of the 100,000 tourists who come to hike in Nepal every year are ‘Free Independent Travellers’, which means they plan their own trips without assistance from travel or trekking agencies.
Many of these visitors share photos and videos of their travels on social media and are Nepal’s most effective influencers. The TIMS and guide rules have been greeted with ridicule and outrage on social media. Potential tourists have said they are going elsewhere.&nbsp;
This is damaging publicity for Nepal as a destination at a time when the industry is struggling after the pandemic and negative publicity from air safety concerns.
Free and independent travellers tend to spend most of their money in rural areas where tourism income matters the most. Most foreign trekking groups, on the other hand, pay holiday wholesalers in Europe or elsewhere who then hire Kathmandu-based agencies, and very little of that trickles down to where trekking income makes the most difference.
The mandatory trekking guide scheme will suffer the same fate as mountaineering liaison officers, most of whom are hardly ever at base camp and just go along for the ride.

Government is God

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d186a9c7e80680e0ac7c6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="525"/><figcaption>All photos courtesy of PEMBA NORBU SHERPA</figcaption></figure>Till two years ago, Pemba Norbu Sherpa was a happy-go-lucky <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/where-have-all-the-guides-gone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trekking guide </a>from Phakding on the Everest Trail. Things were looking up, he was getting trekking clients to guide and would travel to Langtang, Annapurnas and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-other-abc-trek/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">other trails in Nepal</a>.He made many international friends, and endeared himself with his joyful outlook on life. After a day’s hard trek, he would pitch tents, get the food ready, and the next morning would build a plump snowman. Pemba Norbu’s joie de vivre and humour were infectious.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d186d9c7e80680e0ac7c7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="980" height="980">After the 2015 earthquake his trekking business had started to pick up again. He set up his business and had already saved up some money to build a new house for his elderly parents.All of that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/virus-fear-closes-everest-treks-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">changed with the pandemic</a>. “Before the lockdown, I had a high-quality life,” he recalls. “And before that, I had a beautiful carefree childhood. Covid killed the business.”Some of Pemba Norbu’s childhood friends were infected, and he could not see them because of the lockdown and the need for physical distancing. A few of them and their families died.Not only was Pemba cut off from his friends and family, but the dream of a new house for his parents is also now a thing of the past. He lost his job, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/livelihoods-matter-restart-trekking-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cutting off his income completely</a>.  “Due to Covid, all my treks to Everest and Mustang in the past two years were cancelled,” Pemba explains.Before the pandemic, tourism was Nepal’s fourth-largest industry by employment, with over a million people directly dependent on it. While revenue from tourism contributes only 7% to the national GDP, here in the remote mountains of Nepal, entire villages depend on income from trekking and climbing expeditions.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/survive-revive-thrive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">collapse of tourism</a> also had an indirect impact. Locals had no market any more for their produce like potatoes, vegetables and poultry products. Hotel staff, cleaners, cooks were all laid off. Guides and porters have had no work for two years.“I spent the second lockdown in the mountains and the people here don’t have a job or money or anything,” says Pemba. “One of my clients from France helped me financially to distribute rice and salt to the families in Phakding, but there was nothing else I could do to help my fellow villagers.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d186f9c7e80680e0ac7c8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="462">Finally, there seems to be good news. New Covid infection cases and fatalities are falling across Nepal, and with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-begins-covid-19-vaccination-drive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccination drive</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-jabs-and-jabnots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a>picking up, tourism is expected to pick up speed by next spring. Everyone has their fingers crossed that there will be no third wave.“We want to restart our business, but we also need to be vaccinated so that when we are with our clients we can work without any fear of infection,” says Pemba. “We are going through a lot, but we have always been neglected by the state and its incompetent leaders.”Indeed, although nearly 23% of Nepalis above 18 are now vaccinated, most of them in the cities and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-jabs-and-jabnots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remote areas of the country have yet to get adequate doses</a>. As long as the vaccine is not distributed equitably, the threat of the virus, especially among local Sherpa guides who have to work closely with travellers will be at heightened risk.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18729c7e80680e0ac7c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="810">Following <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-relaxes-entry-for-tourists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s revised immigration entry protocol</a>,  tourists can now get visas on arrival and those fully vaccinated against Covid with the second dose 14 days before the date of travel, will no longer have to quarantine after landing in Kathmandu. In addition to vaccine certificates and a negative PCR test report, visitors also need to fill out an electronic form.Some travellers did come back in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/spring-returns-to-nepals-mountaineering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spring of 2021 </a> after the government relaxed the lockdown. But it was not enough to revive local economies. “We got some 300 tourists who were here to climb Everest,” says Pemba. “It didn’t help much with the income as much as it created fear of the virus with some patients at the base camp.”Back in Phakding, independent travelers have started to trickle in, but there is also a new phenomenon of Nepali trekkers who are exploring their country in ever larger numbers after the lockdowns.In fact, most trekkers these days in the lodges of Phakding are Nepali. Pemba is regaining some of his cheerfulness and hope for the future. He says: “Things are starting to get better even if marginally, tourists are returning. I might be able to build a new house for my parents after all.”

Trekking in Nepal is open for business

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1d59c7e80680e08f8dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536"/><figcaption>21-year-old Tsering Bhuti during a trekking expedition in Manang in 2019.</figcaption></figure>In November 2019, Tsering Bhuti joined Alliance Française to learn French. In her job as a trekking guide, she thought learning a new language was going to be a boost.But the Covid-19 pandemic had other plans for her, denting her ambition, taking away her livelihood, and knocking out Nepal’s trekking industry.“The Visit Nepal campaign would have been a turning point for my career, and I was looking forward to making business connections for the future,” says Bhuti, who has assisted <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEuL4__xvBKJiRogSOt_TLmHDPzUQ">expeditions</a> on Annapurna and Manaslu trekking circuit.But she has not given up all hope. “Maybe this break will give me more time to prepare to be a better guide. I will train for mountaineering now,” she adds.Bhuti is just one of thousands of trekking and mountaineering guides in Nepal who have been unemployed for over a year now. Although regular international flights restarted in October, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFV5-8XwAWlS_YplQR0aU2DzP4Kdw">trekking resumed in October</a>, the number of tourists visiting Nepal slumped from over 1.1 million in 2019 to fewer than 230,000 last year.There was a slim hope that things would pick up in the 2021 spring climbing season, but with many countries going through a third wave of coronavirus, airline and expedition bookings are seeing cancellations.The impact of the global pandemic has been seen on all sectors of Nepal’s economy, but none more so than in tourism. The industry used to directly employ 1 million Nepalis, and many more who benefited in ancillary sectors.The suspension of travels after the coronavirus pandemic also dealt a blow to the government’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lets-call-off-visit-nepal-year-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lets-call-off-visit-nepal-year-2020/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF3MhopsZRAK_Orw9S7_GZyBQvS6Q">Visit Nepal 2020 (VNY 2020) </a>campaign, which had a set target of welcoming two million tourists last year.After being closed for nearly a year, the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) in Kathmandu is planning to re-open some of its classes with minimum students so that guides and tourism support staff can use the time to upgrade their skills.“We get numerous calls every single day asking if we are resuming our classes,” says Gyanendra Pandit of NATHM. “It’s time to get back into action.”Last year, NATHM registered 300 students for tourist guides and 800 for trekking guide training courses which had to be suspended after running for a few weeks as the country went into lockdown.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1d99c7e80680e08f8dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1754" height="1316"><figcaption>The Everest Region is looking for a modest revival of trekking this spring. Photo: Pooja Rijal/Nepali Times Archive</figcaption></figure>When Visit Nepal year began in early January 2020, travel agents, guides, porters were all upbeat in the expectation of more business. But just as trekkers and tourists started arriving for the spring season, flights to and from Kathmandu were stopped in March.“Tourism is largely run by the private sector in Nepal with very little help from the government. This unforeseen crisis has made us think about how we conduct tourism in this country,” says Sarita Lama of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal. “This year our revenue is zero. Many trekking and travel agencies have closed indefinitely, as they were unable to pay rents and their employees."Nepal’s tourism sector brought in over $700 million in 2019, and contributed 8% equivalent to the country’s GDP. Indeed, tourism experts say pandemic has given the industry time to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-tourism-now-has-to-re-start-from-zero/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-tourism-now-has-to-re-start-from-zero/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGFY7vFfsXrkcvgLsdT3lHwmOS6IA">rethink the whole business model.</a>The former CEO of Nepal Tourism Board <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGdAsBiez2_LE7vGptE5zv4Y8yryA">Deepak Raj Joshi</a> agrees that the Covid-19 crisis has given Nepal some breathing space and to look for ways to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/survive-revive-thrive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/survive-revive-thrive/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH6DE8NgNaUn6XoOlo2ZeHPWomcUw">make tourism more sustainable</a> and for its benefits to be more equitably distributed within the country.“We should use this pandemic as an opportunity to work towards improvement of facilities along trekking trails and upgrading skills of porters and guides so they can earn more when trekking resumes,” Joshi says.There are also sightseeing tour guides who has lost their jobs in the past year. Kedar Tamang has been a guide taking visitors to tourist attractions around Nepal for the past 25 years. He says he hasn’t seen any crisis as dismal as the past year.“As a tour guide, our responsibility has been to portray a good image of Nepal to the outside world by sharing our culture, history and heritage,” says Tamang. “Out of 4,500 registered tour guides, not even one person has found another job for a year now.”The dire emergency has forced some in the business to adapt to the new environment and create new opportunities in domestic tourism, and to do advance online promotion for a time when visitors can return to Nepal.Manish Shrestha of Enroute Nepal says, “Most of the travel agents have shifted online and have made us rethink our business model. That’s how we are now adapting and adjusting to the new normal.”But for most porters and trekking guides, this is not an option. There is also a lot of competition to guide the few Nepali trekking goops that are venturing out along the trails.Ang Kingka Sherpa, a certified <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-in-the-himalaya-during-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-in-the-himalaya-during-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEi_4EHUq3yaelGq3kc1dXNmb6sUw">trekking</a> guide has been out of a job since the beginning of the lockdown. The 31-year-old has worked his way up the career ladder from being a porter.“Being a guide or a porter is not just my job, it is also my passion. I do not think I can do anything else for a living,” says Sherpa, who has difficulty providing for his family after losing his income, and exhausting his savings.But he has not lost all hope. He is confident tourists will come back to Nepal: “April-May still might hold promise. Let’s see how things go.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEuL4__xvBKJiRogSOt_TLmHDPzUQ">Survive, revive, thrive</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610334109257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEuL4__xvBKJiRogSOt_TLmHDPzUQ">Nepal allows 'royal' himalayan expedition</a>, Nepali Times

Where have all the guides gone?

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96e09c7e80680e05dc91jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>Eighty women enrolled in the Nepal Mountain Academy’s training for trekking guides this year, more than double the number last year. No doubt some had heard that the demand for female guides is so high that they can earn more than men.Till now, female guides have been a rare sight in trekking and mountaineering, even though Nepal’s first female-run trekking company, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9452#.XX90kvAza70">Three Sisters</a>, was founded 20 years ago in Pokhara. Of the total 17,164 licensed guides in the country only 886 are female, but their numbers are growing faster than male guides.Lhakpa Bhuti Sherpa, President of the Nepal Mountain Academy (NMA), remembers when male colleagues asked what was the point in training women as trekking guides when they couldn’t obtain a license. “Why not?” she recalls replying.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96e39c7e80680e05dc92jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Indeed, as women get more educated and travel more, they see opportunities in being guides. Many trekking groups are all-female or have many women among their members and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16195#.XX92XvAza70">they prefer women guides</a>, who seem to understand their needs better.Today, guide training draws women from all walks of life. “We have women here who have climbed Everest, conservationists, financial managers, graduate students and even homemakers. I feel very proud to see them getting the confidence to join,” says Sherpa, who adds that having a course dedicated for women makes participants more empowered and motivated.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96e69c7e80680e05dc93jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Besides 35 days of intense training, prospective guides must complete field work and classes. Some of the practical training includes <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2698#.XX92LPAza70">rock climbing techniques</a>, emergency response, environmental awareness, and learning about the cultures and habits of the various countries their trekking clients come from.“I cannot wait to lead my first trek,” says Sunita Dahal, 28, who is married and has just finished her guide training.Shanti Rai was awarded a fellowship in 2018 for Solo Women Travellers, and the experience convinced her about what she should do with her life. “After my 90 days travelling alone through Nepal, I felt what I had seen and experienced was so authentic that I wanted to share these stories and journeys with the rest of the world, and to inspire other travellers like me,” says Rai. She adds that being a licensed trekking guide is a perfect way to combine her love for Nepal’s great outdoors with earning a living.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96e99c7e80680e05dc94jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Deurali Chamling, 35, climbed Mt Everest in 2018, but says society is always putting limits on what women can and cannot do. She thinks being a trekking guide gives her both the freedom to travel and economic independence. She says: “I can travel to places, earn and meet a whole range of interesting people from all over the world -- there are so many advantages.”The government has now allocated Rs1 million yearly to promote female guide training, in part to prepare women guides for Visit Nepal 2020.“Today female guides are in high demand. This is the only sector where females can earn more than males because they are so few and the demand is high,” says Lakpa Bhuti Sherpa of NMA, who started our as a porter, kitchen worker and then a guide. She says the number of trekking agencies run by women is growing, and so are the number of female guides they hire.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96ec9c7e80680e05dc95jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Phunjo Jangmo Lama, a resident of Tsum Valley, is the first female helicopter long line rescuer and an Everest summiteer and is convinced she is now more <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18972#.XX92FPAza70">confident and independent</a>, adding that women guides can understand the needs of clients better than male ones.She says: “Mountains and trekking know no gender – it is the strength of an individual that matters. If female are given any opportunity they can perform any kind of strength work.”

Nepal’s female guides prepare for trekking season

Nepal has shut down dozens of social media platforms in a move that is widely seen as an effort to tax the revenue they generate in the country, and to control content critical of government. The sites were blocked as of midnight on Thursday, 4 September and affects all Meta products including WhatsApp and Messenger, Threads, and others. Although YouTube, Google and X are also on the government’s list, they were still working as of Friday midday.&nbsp; The government says it took the action after repeated warnings to the platforms to open offices in Nepal, a Cabinet decision last month setting a deadline, as well as a 17 August Supreme Court ruling also requiring them to register and pay requisite taxes. However, the Bill cited in the ban, ‘The Operation, Use, and Regulation of Social Media in Nepal’ has not yet been passed by Parliament. Some social media platforms which were already paying taxes in Nepal even though they are not officially registered, have also been blocked. The move is the latest in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/big-beautiful-bills" target="_blank">a slew of draft legislations</a> designed to undermine Nepal’s open society. A Bill amending the Print and Publications Act would allow district bureaucrats to shut down media. Another draft Bill would allow political appointees to head a new Media Council with the power to revoke the licenses of journalists.&nbsp; A counter-intelligence Bill would let just about anyone in government to arbitrarily tap phones, read emails and trail citizens. On Wednesday the government announced new immigration requirements that would allow it to track the movement of all foreigners in the country. Yet another draft Bill has been set to Parliament to dissolve the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10675" target="_blank">Social Welfare Council (SWC)</a> and move registration and monitoring of non-governmental organisations, nonprofits and charities to the Ministry of Social Welfare. Seen in this light, the blockage of social media platforms this week is seen as the latest government attempt to constrict freedom of press. Nepal is one of the few remaining open societies in Asia, and now appears to be drifting towards authoritarianism. The government’s sudden shutdown of social media has been greeted with howls of protest on platforms that still remain open, like Viber and TikTok, as well as in Nepal’s mainstream press. Even senior members of the ruling UML-NC coalition have sharply criticised the move, asking if the government is trying to “turn Nepal into North Korea”.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656" data-rendition-name="original" width="4280" height="5187" loading="lazy" alt="social media ban in Nepal"> </figure>  The Regional Director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Beh Lih Yi said in a statement: ‘Nepal’s sweeping ban on social media sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom. Blocking online news platforms vital to journalists will undermine reporting and the public’s right to information. The government must immediately rescind this order and restore access to social media platforms, which are essential tools for exercising press freedom.’ Besides undermining press freedom, blocking social media platforms will also hurt commerce and the economy since so many small and medium business trade through Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. Nepal’s vibrant social media has also been a boost or citizens to assert identity, build solidarity against injustice and play an adversarial role when the mainstream media does not do it. Social media platforms have also become the tenuous link for Nepali families scattered across the world to keep in touch with each other — its importance growing with the increasing size of the diaspora. The government wants social media platforms to register, pay taxes and remove posts on their sites that ‘undermine the national interest and Nepal’s territorial integrity, disturb social and religious harmony’.&nbsp; In response, rights activists have said while there is need for the government to regulate extreme content and hate speech, officials appear to be more intent on clamping down on free speech and trying to force platforms to share the revenue. On Friday, the government had allowed WhatsApp back online, but there were reports that it had instructed the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) to instruct mobile and internet service providers to block by Friday night all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Threads, Snapchat, Pinterest, Signal, Clubhouse, Rumble.&nbsp; Platforms that have registered and are allowed include TikTok, Viber, Nimbuzz, Popo Live, WeTalk, Global Diary and the Nepali portal Hamro Patro. TikTok was banned last year for ‘disturbing social harmony’ and it was lifted after the platform registered its office in Nepal. But even while it was banned, many users simply switched to VPN. Telegram was also banned for ‘financial crimes’ and it has since also been allowed back. NTA officials confirmed that some Asia-Pacific regional offices of platforms, including Meta had been in touch overnight inquiring about the registration process.&nbsp; Nepal is not alone in regulating social media. China bans most Western platforms, Russia and Turkey regulate their and require platforms to locate their data servers in the country. Gulf countries allow social media but keep a tight control on dissent.&nbsp; Experts have said even the government will not dare close down YouTube since so many Nepali individuals and companies make money with posts on that platform, and closing it would also impact on Google and Gmail. Facebook had also just launched a monetisation scheme for videos and reels, and Nepalis uploading content would lose revenue.&nbsp; Blocking the platforms has already hit content creators, influencers and cut small businesses from reaching customers. A survey of social media use in Nepal by Sharecast Initiative showed that 94% of those with smart phones used YouTube, followed by Facebook (92%) while TikTok was in the 50-60% range. X and Instagram were in the single digits. A YouTube ban will also hurt the mainstream media since up to 20% of the revenue of Nepal’s main tv channels came through YouTube. Some 11.1 million Nepalis watch YouTube content every day, the survey showed. ‘For global giants like Meta or Google, Nepal is a small market, and they may not even flinch — but for millions of Nepalis, these platforms are central to daily life, livelihoods, and connections across the world,’ wrote AI consultant Naresh Newar in a LinkedIn post. Some experts said the government’s sweeping ban on social media networks was untenable and the government would be forced to rollback sooner or later. Said editor Shiva Gaunle: “The platforms had given citizens a voice and broken the monopoly of the government, legislators, the courts and journalists over public opinion. This is an effort to reassert that monopoly, but Nepal can never be turned into a North Korea.”

Protest grows against Nepal’s social media ban

As arson and violence swept Nepal’s capital, Prime Minister K P Oli resigned on Tuesday. However, this did not stop angry protesters from setting fire to the Parliament building, homes of ministers, hotels and other property. Singha Darbar is also in flames. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba were also attacked in their house. As protests spread, Police withdrew from guarding official buildings, and thousands of protesters entered the federal government secretariat at Singha Darbar, ransacking and setting fire to buildings.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250909120916_a86227e5556356134565053699ed9599f8b268d0c22815fa94410ffac52a49fa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250909120916_a86227e5556356134565053699ed9599f8b268d0c22815fa94410ffac52a49fa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1042" loading="lazy" alt="de-escalation"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250909120916_995f368b8c372bf2f99b6a9c25c2816e941413b3c19d0f94458c07604391b039.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250909120916_995f368b8c372bf2f99b6a9c25c2816e941413b3c19d0f94458c07604391b039" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1042" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu protests"> </figure>  Kathmandu Valley was shrouded in smoke under heavy monsoon clouds on Tuesday afternoon with an acrid smell covering the capital. The minister’s quarters in Bhaisepati were set on fire, the convention centre in Godavari, the Hilton Hotel and Chhaya Centre in Thamel, and the headquarters of all three main parties were also burning.&nbsp; The widespread arson was sparked by the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-8-september-massacre">killing of at least 19 young protesters</a> as they tried to storm Parliament on Monday. A peaceful rally by youth against corruption and nepotism by Nepal’s GenZ movement in Kathmandu escalated after the killings. With the prime minister out of the picture, the government not visible and the security forces in retreat, protesters have had the run of the three cities of Kathmandu Valley.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250909120916_207c3c25f8aa9bd0934b8c98ccee1221e3a062815cfcb1e211deddb4dccd6511.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250909120916_207c3c25f8aa9bd0934b8c98ccee1221e3a062815cfcb1e211deddb4dccd6511" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1042" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu protests"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250909120920_bb2c0f273dc95ef62c58b5f55045c58cbddc4b3b8f619e938be76ef2cda69468.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250909120920_bb2c0f273dc95ef62c58b5f55045c58cbddc4b3b8f619e938be76ef2cda69468" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1042" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu protests"> </figure>  Nepal’s celebrity cricket captain Paras Khadka has appealed to to call off the agitation, saying: “The prime minister you wanted to kneel has already knelt.” Former prime minister and Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai called for the formation of an interim government that included some young student leaders. He called for the agitating groups to find a solution from within the Constitution and a directly elected presidential system. All members of the opposition RPP and the RSP have resigned from Parliament, while party supporters entered the Nakkhu Jail and freed the RSP leader Rabi Lamichhane who had been detained for the past 8 months by the Oli government on charges of embezzlement. Some of the protesters also want an end to federalism, which was also the demand of opposition parties like the RSP and the pro-monarchist RPP. Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh has stepped down. Many of the protesters have voiced support for Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, who &nbsp;posted on Facebook calling on the GenZ protesters to “be ready to talk to the Army … but only after Parliament has been dissolved”. Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel and the heads of security agencies have called on the protesting groups to excercise restraint and to find a solution through talks.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250909120912_cd93a827631d987ee52723aa270faf45aa42e4322eb8f06304b28215e3cea28a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250909120912_cd93a827631d987ee52723aa270faf45aa42e4322eb8f06304b28215e3cea28a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1042" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu protests"> </figure>  Although the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">protests were sparked by the GenZ campaigners</a>, disparate groups, including monarchists, anti-federalists, disgruntled Maoists, dissidents from the mainstream parties, and others have joined the protests. But one thing that united them is extreme frustration with the mainstream parties and their leaders past and present who have taken turns running and ruining the country.

Kathmandu burns despite PM resignation

A rally organised by young Nepalis across the country against corruption, impunity and restrictions on freedom of expression on Monday turned into one of the deadliest days in the country's recent history. As of Monday evening, the death toll from the protest had reached 19, with 17 killed in Kathmandu and two in Itahari. More than 350 people were injured. Police have arrested more than 40 protesters. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak of the Nepali Congress resigned, and there have been calls from opposition parties for the entire NC-UML coalition to step down and announce early elections. The protest followed a growing online movement led by young Nepalis exposing the ostentatious display of privilege by the offspring and relatives of politicians and other public figures, which had sparked discourse about nepotism, corruption and the wealth gap in Nepal. Confronted with joblessness and corruption, Nepali youth looked to the recent street movement in Bangladesh, where a student uprising against quota-based recruitment for government jobs expanded last year and toppled the autocratic Sheikh Hasina government. In Indonesia, public frustration with government apathy boiled over into a national movement last month after it emerged that elected officials and the political elite enjoyed perks while citizens faced a cost of living crisis. In the Philippines, as disaster mitigation-infrastructure projects failed to work, citizens began to question where the funds for such projects were actually going. This prompted social media users to look deeper into the lives of the politically-connected figures who flaunted their lavish lifestyles online. In Nepal public outrage has been building up against nepotism, corruption and impunity in government. Facing unemployment at home, nearly 10% of Nepalis, mostly youth, toil overseas or leave Nepal in search for better lives abroad. Meanwhile, the well-connected posted images online of themselves enjoying holidays abroad paid with the ill-gotten wealth of relatives in high places. Young GenZ Nepalis, frustrated with establishment politicians, had called for an anti-corruption, anti-government movement across the country. This coincided with the Nepal government’s decision on 5 September to ban 26 social media sites for failing to register and pay taxes in Nepal.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120956_53f97cf0de3ddc8d5c823686f56e71981df922d0ecd2989ad842245acdf71aa6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250908120956_53f97cf0de3ddc8d5c823686f56e71981df922d0ecd2989ad842245acdf71aa6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"></figure>  Faced with the government's social media blockade, the protests took to the street. The movement was supposed to be apolitical, and focused against corruption. It garnered support from public figures and opposition leaders, some of whom conveniently forgot that they had been in government when the TikTok ban was imposed in Nepal in 2023. On Monday morning, protesters showed up at Maitighar with slogans and placards, many of them college students, even school children. The organisers had called for young Nepalis to join in their uniforms, believing that it would protect them from violence that might occur during the course of the day. By mid-morning, thousands of Nepalis had gathered at the Mandala intersection, playing music and chanting slogans. The mood was almost festive. Shortly after noon, however, a rally that had begun peacefully descended into violence after protesters broke the police barricade in Baneswor to storm Parliament. Police first began firing tear gas and water cannons, and then live ammunition at demonstrators. The Kathmandu district administration is said to have authorised full use of force against protestors who vandalised public property after protestors infiltrated the Parliament grounds.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090818090_84e4a5bdcf19aa3cbf03831140120c88d9f3fe5a12d47041588fea7409988e67.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025090818090_84e4a5bdcf19aa3cbf03831140120c88d9f3fe5a12d47041588fea7409988e67" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protests"><figcaption>Photo: SUDIKSHA TULADHAR</figcaption></figure>  Organisers Hami Nepali had requested demonstrators to go home as the protests turned deadly, saying that those who stormed Parliament were not associated with them, hinting that the rally had been infiltrated by radical groups. But by that time, the demonstration had got too large to contain. In the ensuing violence, hundreds were left injured, including journalists, and 17 dead so far in Kathmandu. Nepal’s leadership and security forces do not seem to have learnt their lessons about managing mass protests after the pro-monarchy demonstrations in March in which two people were killed. The indiscriminate use of force against unarmed Nepalis turned into a massacre. The emergency wards in Kathmandu are filled with those with bullet wounds on their legs, arms and heads. Hospitals have called for blood donations. At the time of publishing, there has been no statement from the Prime Minister, who before the protest on Monday had belittled GenZ youth as being naive, wet behind the ears, and their movement being ‘led by provocateurs’. Oli has presided over a slew of Bills to constrain the press, social media, and civil society, he has silenced and mowed down competitors and critics within his own party. This week, the UML got rid of age and term limits for party chairmanship, effectively clearing the way for 74-year-old Oli to head the party for the foreseeable future. Also feeding into the anger in the GenZ protest was a CCTV clip of a young woman being hit on Saturday at a zebra crossing by the car of a provincial minister in Godavari. The video of the car speeding away without stopping went viral on TikTok, one of few social media platforms still functioning.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090818090_35799a98e5a7f5f865bb6f94633059d2baa66ec57ea0d396ab020f2f8f912387.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025090818090_35799a98e5a7f5f865bb6f94633059d2baa66ec57ea0d396ab020f2f8f912387" data-rendition-name="original" width="854" height="641" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"><figcaption>Photo: SANGYA LAMSAL</figcaption></figure>  Oli fuelled the outrage by dismissing the victim’s injury as “minor”, and accusing political rivals of magnifying the issue. Opposition leaders and members of civil society have called for the government to resign en masse, and the fourth-largest party in Parliament, the RSP, has called for a snap election. As per his agreement with the NC, Oli is supposed to hand over power early next year to its leader ’s Sher Bahadur Deuba. Some analysts have suggested that if Oli did the handover now, he could help defuse the situation and earn brownie points ahead of the 2027 elections. But such political calculation would belittle the tragedy that has befallen the families of the 19 who were killed on Monday. Nepal’s political leadership cannot think that just reshuffling its three-card prime ministerial deck will quell public anger now. Nepal’s next generation wants to uproot the rot of corruption from politics, governance, and the bureaucracy. It wants elected leaders to deliver services, provide jobs and raise living standards. Monday’s massacre has only made them angrier, and bolstered their resolve to lead from the front.

Nepal’s 8 September massacre

At least 15 were killed in a nationwide rally called by Nepal’s youth via social media on Monday to protest corruption and impunity in government. Hundreds of others have been injured in Kathmandu and other cities across Nepal. Fifty of them in Kathmandu are said to be in critical condition, and emergency wards of hospitals ran out of essential supplies to treat them.&nbsp; Two journalists, Dipendra Dhungana and Shyam Shrestha of Kantipur were among those injured as they covered the protesters trying to storm Parliament building. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the Mandala intersection in Kathmandu for what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering to voice outrage against corruption. Rallyists were responding to a call via social media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120948_2652b268dac74e9524a2ca11f320391a33d02233e212e21c1a8ed17210c19a96.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250908120948_2652b268dac74e9524a2ca11f320391a33d02233e212e21c1a8ed17210c19a96" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"> </figure>  However, the rally soon went out of control of the organisers as public anger against the government boiled over because of unpunished corruption in high places, an unresponsive government, and the blockade of social media platforms on Saturday that shut down 26 sites, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and other messaging apps. That appears to have been the last straw, and public outrage over the social media ban spilled over into the streets. On Monday, protests turned violent after demonstrators stormed Parliament, set fire to one of its gates, and vandalised property.&nbsp; The police responded with tear gas and water cannons before Kathmandu’s Chief District Officer ordered them to open fire. The government has since imposed curfew in parts of Kathmandu until 10PM. “I didn’t expect the crowd to be this massive. I just came to observe,” said Sanchit Maharjan, a bystander caught in the middle of the violence. “I’m not even Gen Z, but I was hit by tear gas earlier. Still, it feels powerful to see young people standing up.” <div class="embed-block"><div style="max-width: 56vh;"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 177.7778%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FTfzT9WjPOxM&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> Graphic images have since flooded the still functioning social media sites like TikTok: students in uniforms soaked in blood, protesters being carried to the nearby Civil Service Hospital, which itself was engulfed in teargas.&nbsp; Young people, some of them students in college uniform, had started gathering at Mandala as early as 9AM, flashing placards with slogans denouncing government corruption. Popular rapper OMG Spark was performing live music at one point. The GenZ protest is only the latest in a series of demonstrations against Nepal’s career leaders who are seen to be incompetent and corrupt. The international #Nepobaby trend on TikTok gave the protests momentum, and Nepalis used it to expose the scions of powerful politicians and politically-connected influencers who were exhibiting their flashy lifestyles on social media while citizens struggled with joblessness, corruption and poor service delivery.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120956_0f8ba149e43922fb551ebd63036701e646704dca4277a7e47c7ee4810c3c36ff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250908120956_0f8ba149e43922fb551ebd63036701e646704dca4277a7e47c7ee4810c3c36ff" data-rendition-name="original" width="2576" height="1932" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"> </figure>  Young Nepalis on social media were posing questions such as: ‘Where does our tax money actually go?’ or ‘Why does the budget vanish into thin air?’ Public anger reached a tipping point when the UML-NC coalition led by Prime Minister &nbsp;K P Oli announced a sweeping ban on major social media platforms citing tax revenue, cyber security, and lack of content moderation.&nbsp; Netizens, civil society and media however saw it as the latest authoritarian attempt by the government to clamp down on free speech, increase surveillance of citizens and clamp down on Nepal’s open society.&nbsp; “Politics is everywhere,” said 22-year old student Susmita Khadka who was at the protest. “Gen Z has the most platforms, and we want a revolution. I believe as long as protests remain peaceful, they can be incredibly effective. But when it turns violent, it creates a Cobra Effect—where it actually makes it worse.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120948_cb24f18c947f13e5df9fb4f6ac28e77c7188f0eaa2390b57810b91cd8e66488a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250908120948_cb24f18c947f13e5df9fb4f6ac28e77c7188f0eaa2390b57810b91cd8e66488a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"> </figure>  She added that the protests could have been more peaceful. “I wish there were more organised banners, collective sit-ins where people actually ask for our opinions and listen to our needs. Repetitive slogans and one-day marches won’t bring real change.” As the violence went out of control, the Nepal Army was deployed outside Parliament and a curfew was declared on the road leading to the airport. Organisers Hami Nepali requested demonstrators to go home, and said that those who stormed Parliament were not associated with them, hinting that the rally had been infiltrated by radical groups. Demonstrations have also erupted in major cities including Butwal, Chitwan, Pokhara, and Birtamode. The District Administration Office (DAO) in Kaski has imposed a similar curfew in Pokhara where the police have opened fire, injuring some protesters. Says Ronesh Pradhan of Hami Nepal who led the protest: “The voices of young people matter. We can’t keep being ruled by the same old men. Our generation is the future and if there are older leaders in government, they need to be competent and accountable. We are ready to lead this country forward.” <div class="embed-block"><div style="max-width: 56vh;"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 177.7778%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FTfzT9WjPOxM&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> &nbsp;

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