As the Nepal protests intensified with the resignation of top leaders, including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, celebrities and famous social media stars came under fire for not speaking up. Former Miss Nepal Shrinkhala Khatiwada, who won the crown, faced criticism for not speaking up. Her Instagram saw a significant drop in followers number.
Gen Z Protests Shake Nepal
Protests were mostly led by the Gen Z population of the country. These protests started against the rampant corruption in the country. However, the protests turned violent after a controversial social media ban that mobilized thousands to the streets.
The protestors stormed government buildings, set them on fire, and attacked politicians, including lynching the finance minister of the country.
The protests didn’t die down even after the resignation of the prime minister.
Nepo Babies Controversy
While the social media ban acted as the immediate trigger for the protests that began on Monday, discontent toward the country’s powerful politicians had been growing online for weeks.
Before the social media ban was lifted, young people in Nepal ran a campaign circulating videos, criticising the ountry’s so-called ‘nepo babies,’ referring to children of wealthy and influential families.
The campaign focused on the lavish lifestyle of the political elite, which they believed was funded by the taxpayers money.
Who is Shrinkhala Khatiwada?
Shrinkhala Khatiwada, 29, is one of the public figures facing criticism for not speaking against the corruption and social media ban. Shrinkhala won he title of Miss Nepal World in 2018. She also represented Nepal at the Miss World pageant.
She is the daughter of former Nepal Health Minister Birodh Khatiwada and Munu Sigdel Khatiwada, a member of the state parliament of Bagmati Province.
Shrinkhala Khatiwada Loses Instagram Followers
Shrinkhala, who is famous on Instagram, is known for posting her travel content from places like London, the US, and Switzerland.
According to SocialBlade, she had over a million followers on August 28. However, she has lost over 97,000 users.
Shrinkhala Khatiwada Faces Backlash Over Silence
Many social media users criticized Shrinkhala for not publicly supporting the protesters.
“Genuinely felt like the backlash Shrinkhala was facing was a tad bit too much initially but maintaining silence even after 20+ of your fellow youths have been murdered is f***** deplorable and nasty,” one comment on X read.
Another user wrote, “Never understood the hype of Shrinkhala. Publicly claiming to remove the corrupted bureaucracy to marrying into the most corrupted family, protesting for her in-laws and still advocating for a better Nepal. What a hypocrite.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
