From Nepal to Peru, Morocco and Madagascar, 2025 saw an unprecedented wave of youth-led protests driven by Generation Z, characterized by a shared symbol from the Japanese manga One Piece: a skull and crossbones in a straw hat. This symbol became a unifying emblem of resistance against corruption, inequality, and unemployment worldwide. The movement notably toppled governments in Nepal and Madagascar and called for social reforms in several countries.

Unlike past youth movements, Gen Z utilized social media platforms such as Discord, Instagram, and TikTok to mobilize protests in real-time, creating a decentralized global revolt fueled by shared grievances. Local issues sparked the unrest—social media bans and elite corruption in Nepal, utility shortages in Madagascar, and inequalities in Morocco—but the protests transcended these to express a collective refusal to accept political and economic oppression.

The aftermath has been mixed; Nepal appointed an interim government with youth participation and launched a commission investigating protester deaths. Madagascar experienced a military takeover, disappointing many activists. In Morocco, some social reforms were promised despite mass arrests of protesters. While the movements remain largely spontaneous and leaderless, their digital networks sustain ongoing activism, signaling continued generational challenges to entrenched power structures heading into 2026 elections.

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This series of Gen Z uprisings marks a significant shift in global youth activism, harnessing digital tools for political impact across continents and suggesting a new era of interconnected resistance by young people demanding systemic change.​

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