Across the world, a number of young people – known as the Gen Z movement – are taking to the streets and fighting for their rights. In Madagascar, they’re protesting chronic water shortages and power cuts. In Peru, the right to therapeutic abortions is under threat. And in Indonesia, young people are raising their voices against the resurgence of authoritarian practices.
However, instead of facilitating and protecting the right to peaceful protest, security forces are responding with unlawful force, putting young peoples’ lives in danger. Young people should not have to risk their lives to protest.
Amnesty International is calling on governments all over the world to negotiate a Torture-Free Trade Treaty at the United Nations to prohibit inherently abusive law enforcement equipment and to regulate the trade in standard policing equipment often used to commit torture and other ill-treatment. Without effective human rights-based controls, people will continue to suffer physical and psychological harms at the hands of authorities.
In this story, four young activists from the Gen Z movement share why they’re determined to protest, despite the dangers they’re facing…
Robert*, 20, Madagascar
We want our voices to be heard. For too long, young people have been ignored, even though we represent the future of this nation.
Protesting is not just an act of resistance. We are exercising our fundamental right to speak out and express our discontent.
By being present in the streets and participating in protests, we are showing that we will no longer accept silence and that we’re putting pressure on those in power to finally listen to the people they are supposed to serve. We are protesting for a better future, and we are rejecting a system that has left education abandoned, leaving an entire generation behind.
Silence protects the oppressors, while visibility protects the people.
Robert*, 20, Madagascar
However, when we protest, we risk our lives. Law enforcement officials often use unlawful force against protesters, leading to several cases of deaths and serious injuries. We’re also in constant danger of being arrested simply for speaking out or for sharing information. We need the international media to shed light on what is happening here. Silence protects the oppressors, while visibility protects the people.
Beyond our individual safety, the greatest danger is that this country continues to sink deeper into poverty, while a handful of corrupt politicians and businessmen enrich themselves. If nothing changes, generations of Malagasy will remain trapped in misery. That is the real danger we are fighting to prevent.
This is not only about today’s anger, it is about building tomorrow’s hope. Every voice, every step we take, is pressure on this government and its president to step aside. For many, this movement represents the dawn of true change, change led by the people and for the people. It is not just political; it is human.
Humanity must win because it is people who build nations, not regimes, not corrupt elites. If humanity loses, then the country loses its very soul. But if humanity wins, then Madagascar can finally rise, stronger and fairer, for every Malagasy people.
*Name and age has been changed for security purposes. This testimony was shared on 7 October.
Paola, 26, activist and youth delegate, Peru
Protesting as a young person in my country means standing up to all human rights violations whatever they might be. I protest for a more just world where raising my voice isn’t synonymous with death. I protest because I want every person to feel free and proud to be who they are and to love whoever they want. I protest and mobilize because I want an ecosystem that is respected and loved.
When I raise my voice, I feel happy because I’m contributing to a world where we can hopefully all enjoy our human rights one day.
I am a human rights activist for Amnesty International Peru and our organization stands for resistance, companionship, and humanity. I don’t feel alone because I have other comrades fighting with me in different regions of the country.
Yet, being a human rights defender in Peru can be a challenge. Recently, I participated in the protests on 28 September in Chiclayo, Lambayeque – a region located in northern Perú. We were protesting because the right to therapeutic abortion is at risk. Many girls who are survivors of rape continue to be forced to face unwanted pregnancies, and not only are they denied their right to safe abortion, they face cruel treatment and in some cases criminalization. This continues to happen, despite the alarming figures on sexual violence in 2024, where 12,183 women, girls, and adolescents reported being victims of sexual violence.
In my country, we are facing a crisis of legitimacy and trust in institutions and authorities, which is why we are protesting every week and being repressed by the police. When we take to the streets, we are faced with various political and economic forces that don’t want to see us there. My message to everyone is that humanity must win and it will, because I can see it happening every day.
Derry, 25, student, Indonesia
Joining demonstrations is not merely an act of protest, but a declaration of conscience. It is how we stand up for justice and affirm our solidarity with the people. By taking to the streets, we draw a clear line between those who stand for fairness and those who remain silent in the face of oppression. For us, silence is complicity. Speaking up means choosing justice over fear.
We are raising our voices against the resurgence of authoritarian practices. Governments are sliding towards repressive tendencies, masking exploitative policies under broad slogans. These policies harm both the environment and marginalized communities, especially Indigenous Peoples, while betraying fundamental principles of human rights and good governance. Our demand is clear: a total structural and institutional reform toward a more humane, rights-based approach to governance.
We face brutal repression for protesting.
Derry, 25, Indonesia
Yet, we face brutal repression for protesting. When I served as a volunteer paramedic during the late-August protests, I saw how the police fired their weapons recklessly into the dark after cutting the electricity and street lights. Many of our friends were arrested without reason, detained without due process, and charged on fabricated grounds. These are not random incidents, they are symptoms of a state that fears its own people.
This movement is very important as it symbolizes proof that our generation, Gen Z, is willing to stand up and fight for justice in our country. Gen Z has proven that we are not indifferent. We care, we act, and we fight for justice.
I believe my contribution, though it might be small, can ignite the change we have always fought for. Humanity must prevail because for me it represents the highest ideal of all struggles: political, cultural, and economic alike. Every revolution, at its core, seeks a world where we coexist in dignity and mutual respect. That is why humanity must remain the compass of every civil movement, for it embodies the ultimate vision we all strive toward: a truly civilized humanity.
As for my message to authorities: We will always exist — and we will multiply. The harder you try to silence us, the louder we will become. We are not afraid because repression only exposes your fear. It shows that you, not us, are terrified of the truth and afraid of the people.
Rova, 23, Madagascan student based in Malaysia
As Generation Z, protesting is not a choice; it’s a moral necessity. We are growing up in a world where injustice has become a daily occurrence, where corruption stifles hope, and where silence is sometimes more dangerous than speaking out.
In Madagascar, young people live in a harsh reality: poverty, inequality, power cuts, abuse of power, and fear of expressing their opinions. Yet, despite these obstacles, we choose to speak out, to march, to denounce.
I fight for social justice, transparency, and human dignity. I fight for social and environmental justice, for a true democracy where every voice counts, where young people are no longer considered mere spectators. I fight for Madagascar—a magnificent but wounded country, where so much potential is stifled by the abuse of power and poverty. I also fight so that young people, wherever they are, can believe they have a role in their country’s history.
My fight is peaceful, but profound: I believe that no society can develop sustainably without truth and equity. Yet, even from a distance, there are risks. Speaking openly about the Malagasy political situation can be misunderstood, monitored, or manipulated. But the greatest risk would be to remain silent. I prefer to be heard for a moment rather than complicit in my silence.
To the authorities that stand in our way, I want to tell them that enforced silence has never built peace. True peace is not born of fear, but of dialogue and respect. You can stop voices, but you cannot stop thought. You can lock up bodies, but never ideas. What you see in the streets today are not troublemakers: they are awakening consciences, young people who refuse to let their futures waste away in indifference.
Young people are not their enemy. We are not fighting against them, but against a system that is destroying our future. We are not seeking confrontation, but construction. Silencing a voice is delaying inevitable change.
Our movement is much more than a political revolt. It is a civic renaissance. If humanity wins, it means that truth, solidarity, and freedom triumph over fear, manipulation, and indifference. Because humanity isn’t an abstract idea—it’s who we are, it’s our ability to feel the pain of others as our own. If injustice wins in Madagascar, then all of humanity loses a piece of its soul.
I deeply believe that every local struggle echoes globally: when a people finds its voice again, the whole world breathes a little easier. And to those demonstrating on site—the young people, the students, the mothers, the teachers—I owe them my voice, because their courage is the reason we continue to hope.
This testimony was shared on 8 October.
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