A See–Judge–Act Reflection on Youth Unemployment, Inequality, and Corruption
A few days ago, Nepal was shaken by a youth-led uprising that captured global attention. The government’s abrupt decision to ban 26 major social media platforms—including Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp—sparked mass protests led by Generation Z. These young people, who make up over 40% of Nepal’s population, mobilised not only against digital censorship but also against years of political impunity, corruption, and economic exclusion. The protests resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, the deaths of at least 51 protesters, and the burning of Parliament and Supreme Court buildings (BBC News, 2025; AP News, 2025).
The movement was decentralised, leaderless, and driven by frustration with a system that had failed to deliver jobs, dignity, or hope. The hashtags #NepoKids and #NepoBaby became rallying cries against the privileges of political elites and their families, who flaunted wealth while ordinary youth struggled to survive.
SEE: The Reality of Young People in Nepal
Youth unemployment in Nepal is not just a statistic—it is a structural crisis. According to Sharma and Paudel (2023), youth unemployment stood at 20.36% in 2023, significantly higher than the national average of 12.6%. The causes are multifaceted: a mismatch between education and labour market needs, outdated curricula, limited vocational training, and a lack of support for entrepreneurship. The labour market is dominated by informality, with over 90% of employed youth working in insecure, low-wage jobs.
Recent field research in Lalbandi Municipality, Madhesh Province, underscores the severity of youth unemployment in semi-urban Nepal. Chaudhary (2025) found that 40% of youth were unemployed, and another 30.7% were informally employed. Only 20% were self-employed, and a mere 13.3% had accessed financial support for entrepreneurship. Over 60% had not received any vocational or entrepreneurial training, and nearly 75% were unaware of government or NGO support programmes. Despite these barriers, 77.3% of youth expressed interest in starting a business if adequate support—such as training, finance, or mentorship—were available.
The situation is further complicated by gender and regional disparities. Sharma and Bista (2025) report that youth unemployment nationally is 22.7%, with provinces like Karnali and Sudurpaschim showing the lowest labour force participation rates and highest unemployment. Women are disproportionately engaged in unpaid agricultural and domestic work, while men dominate paid non-agricultural employment. These disparities reflect deep-rooted structural inequalities in Nepal’s labour market.
Nepal’s youth unemployment crisis is compounded by deepening income and wealth inequality. The Gini coefficient for income rose from 0.49 in 2010/11 to 0.58 in 2019, placing Nepal among the most unequal countries globally. The wealth Gini coefficient was even higher at 0.74, indicating extreme concentration of wealth. The Palma Ratio shows that the richest 10% of Nepalis earn more than three times the income of the poorest 40%, and possess over 26 times their wealth (Nepal Economic Forum, 2025).
This inequality is driven by structural factors: import dependency, privatisation, and cuts in public spending on health and education. For example, health spending fell from 7.8% of total government expenditure in 2011/12 to just 4.79% in 2023/24, while education spending dropped from 18.3% to 11.25% over the same period. These cuts disproportionately affect rural and low-income populations, who rely on public services. Around 60% of rural households require over 30 minutes to reach the nearest government health facility, and 70% of students in public schools drop out.
While remittances have helped reduce poverty, they have also widened inequality. The income share has increased only for the richest fifth of the population, while it has declined for everyone else. The poverty gap deepened by 7.37% and severity by 9.25%, indicating that remittance inflows have elevated living standards for some but exacerbated disparities for others.
Corruption further undermines youth aspirations. Nepal ranks 107th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, with a score of just 34 out of 100 (Nepal Lawyer, 2025). Despite decades of legal reforms, corruption remains deeply embedded in Nepal’s governance systems. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Nepal’s constitutional anti-corruption body, suffers from limited jurisdiction, inadequate resources, and political interference. High-profile cases are routinely obstructed, and investigations drag on for years without resolution.
The Gen Z-led protests were a direct response to this systemic corruption. Protesters stormed parliament, set fire to government buildings, and demanded accountability from political elites. The death toll from these protests has risen to 51, with over 1,300 injured (DW, 2025; ABC News, 2025). The resignation of Prime Minister Oli was seen as a symbolic victory, but protesters insisted that real change would only come with the dismantling of corrupt networks and the creation of genuine economic opportunities.
Aryal et al. (2025) offer a sobering political analysis: Nepal’s major political parties—across ideological lines—fail to recognise the unemployed as a distinct social class. Their manifestos and constitutions focus on the working class, farmers, and cultural groups, but consistently overlook the unemployed. This invisibility in political discourse exacerbates inequality and denies unemployed youth access to welfare, training, and representation.
JUDGE: Reflecting in Light of Faith and Justice
From a Cardijn perspective, this moment demands deep reflection. The See–Judge–Act method begins with the truth of experience—the lived reality of young people in Nepal. What we see is a generation denied dignity, agency, and opportunity. Their protests, their migration, and their informal labour are not isolated events but symptoms of deeper structural injustice.
To judge this reality is to interpret it through the lens of faith, reason, and conscience. Cardijn’s method draws on the philosophical tradition of phronesis (practical wisdom) and prudence—the capacity to discern right action in concrete circumstances (Cardijn Community Australia, 2023). It also reflects the theological truth of the Incarnation: that God enters human history, and faith must do likewise. The contradiction between the God-given dignity of each person and the social reality of exclusion demands a response.
Nepal’s youth are not just economically marginalised—they are politically invisible. As Aryal et al. (2025) show, the unemployed are not recognised as a distinct social class in political discourse. This violates the truth of pastoral practice, which calls for organised lay action to transform unjust realities (Cardijn Community Australia, 2023). The Church, and all people of faith, must stand with the young—not as observers, but as co-creators of a more just society.
The See–Judge–Act method is not abstract. It is a call to praxis—to transformative engagement with history. It empowers individuals to move from paralysis to action, and communities to move from fragmentation to solidarity. In Nepal, this means supporting youth-led initiatives, reforming education and employment systems, and dismantling corruption. It means listening to the periphery and allowing grassroots insights to shape national and ecclesial renewal.
A Call to Discernment
And now, we must act. But how we act is not prescribed. It is a question each of us must answer. What is my response to the cry of young people in Nepal? How can I, in my context, act in solidarity with their struggle for dignity and justice?
This is not a time for indifference. It is a time for reflection, prayer, and courageous decision-making. Let us reflect deeply. Let us act faithfully.
References
ABC News. (2025, September 10). Nepal protests: Social media ban and corruption spark deadly unrest. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-10/nepal-protests-social-media-ban-corruption-economic-opportunity/105755684
AP News. (2025, September 10). Nepal’s Gen Z protest social media ban and corruption. https://apnews.com/article/nepal-genz-protest-social-media-ban-9dc6ecd2c089141cc8c36af5949cfc09
Aryal, A., Suwal, B. R., & Adhikari, K. P. (2025). Political perspectives towards the unemployed in Nepal: A class-based study. PMPD Perspectives, 3, 99–122. https://doi.org/10.3126/ssd.v3i01.81308
BBC News. (2025, September 10). Nepal protests: Gen Z uprising forces PM to resign. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkj0lzlr3ro
Cardijn Community Australia. (2023). The relevance of the Cardijn approach in today’s world. https://cardijncommunityaustralia.org/the-relevance-of-the-cardijn-approach-in-todays-world/
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Nepal Economic Forum. (2025). Examining the dynamics of wealth and income inequality in Nepal. https://nepaleconomicforum.org/examining-the-dynamics-of-wealth-and-income-inequality-in-nepal/
Nepal Lawyer. (2025). How to understand why Nepal cannot solve the corruption problem. https://www.nepallawyer.com/news/how-to-understand-why-nepal-cannot-solve-the-corruption-problem
Sharma, L. K., & Paudel, V. (2023). Youth employment issues and their impact on the economic development of Nepal. Journal of Development and Administrative Studies, 31(1–2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jodas.v31i1-2.72227
Sharma, T. P., & Bista, L. B. (2025). Understanding gender and provincial disparities in labour force participation and employment patterns in Nepal. KMC Journal, 7(2), 253–265. https://doi.org/10.3126/kmcj.v7i2.83451
Sky News. (2025, September 10). Number of dead in Nepal anti-corruption protests rises to 51. https://news.sky.com/story/number-of-dead-in-nepal-anti-corruption-protests-rises-to-51-13429091
The Guardian. (2025, September 10). Nepal’s Gen Z protests corruption and inequality. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/10/nepal-gen-z-protests-corruption