Monsoon rain, mountain roads, and three little girls walking in their own world, each wearing raincoats of different colors. In recent days, this very scene has dominated the ‘timeline’ of Nepali social media.

Even as the person filming the video repeatedly calls out from behind, “Hello friends...,” the girls give no response and continue walking quietly in the drizzle, lost in their own rhythm. The video of these girls from Rolpa went viral overnight.

Not only in Nepal, but this video also made its way into Indian media. The popular Indian television outlet Aaj Tak published a news story on July 24 titled “Bags on their shoulders, dreams in their eyes... Video of children going to school in monsoon rain goes viral,” publishing a report on it.

As the video gained attention, social media users, YouTubers, and content creators in Nepal began to actively search for information about the girls.

After the video went viral, another video was posted from a Facebook account named ‘Loken Pun’. In that video, the girls are stopped on the road and called out to. Another Facebook user, ‘Bhuvan Thapa’, even visited the girls’ home on July 23 and made a video. In that video, titled “Visiting the home of these girls from Rolpa who walk to school in the rain,” the little girls are made to wear raincoats and are directed to “turn that way”.

The person seen in the video asks the girls, “How were you walking?” and makes them hold hands and walk in front of the camera. Later, the same person posted a photo on Facebook claiming to have donated educational materials to the girls from his Facebook earnings, presenting himself as a ‘donor’ by publicizing the donation.

Not only that, even a responsible institution like Nepal Telecom, which is state-owned, used photos of the girls in its advertisements. Telecom used the same image of the three girls walking in raincoats, with the words ‘Data’, ‘Voice’, and ‘SMS’ and the caption “Hello friends!!” in its promotion. However, the girls’ faces were not shown in that image.

The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office also used the same video on its Facebook page to create road safety video content. The video compares the colors of the girls’ raincoats to the colors of traffic lights. In that video, the girls’ faces are shown one after another. However, an official from the traffic police claimed that the images of the girls shown in the video were created with the help of AI.

While the video going viral may seem ordinary, the ‘viral trend’ that has grown behind it, the exploitation of the girls’ privacy, and the local government’s race for cheap popularity are concerning. The video was made viral for personal or institutional gain, but the impact this may have on the girls’ future has been ignored.

Researcher and Child Safe Net chairperson Anil Raghuwanshi says there is no evidence that the girls or their guardians gave consent for the video to be made and published. “The public exposure of their faces and personal details carries a high risk that these photos and videos could be misused in the future,” Raghuwanshi told Kantipur. “Revealing through the video that the girls walk for 35 minutes along a deserted road to get to school is like providing information to people with bad intentions. This could pose a serious threat to their physical safety.”

According to Raghuwanshi, while society chases after ‘likes’ and ‘views’, the online safety of the girls is being completely ignored.

Instead of the state itself engaging in the ‘viral’ trend, it should focus on providing equal rights, quality education, and security to all children in the municipality. : Tillotama Paudel, Chairperson, CWIN Nepal Tillotama Paudel, chairperson of the National Campaign for Children as Zones of Peace (CWIN Nepal), argues that turning children into ‘entertainment material’ on social media can cause psychosocial problems for them. “Even consent obtained from minors cannot be considered fully valid legally or practically, because they may have given permission to stand in front of the camera without understanding, or just for fun,” says Paudel.

According to psychologist Shrijana Subedi, publicly sharing photos and videos of children in this way increases the risk of ‘identity crisis’ and social anxiety in the future. “When there is a mismatch between the ‘online image’ created by social media and the child’s ‘real image’, it can later lead to an identity crisis,” she says. “As they grow up, negative comments and cyberbullying from friends or strangers about old photos and videos can increase feelings of shame.”

When these girls become adults and see those pitiful childhood scenes on the internet, they may feel bad and experience a blow to their self-esteem. : Shrijana Subedi, Psychiatrist According to Subedi, portraying children on social media as objects of ‘pity or compassion’ is even more alarming. “When these children become adults and see those pitiful childhood scenes on the internet, they experience intense guilt and feel their self-esteem has been hurt,” she adds.

The most troubling aspect is that, instead of protecting the privacy of the girls walking to school in raincoats, the local government itself seems intent on making them go viral. Riding on the wave of publicity, Runtigadhi Rural Municipality has already decided to provide the girls with free education up to higher studies.

“The enthusiasm of these little children to go to school wearing just one raincoat shows their energy and hard work,” chairperson Janak Pun told Kantipur. “This decision was made to honor their discipline, warmth, love, and goodwill.”

According to chairperson Pun, the local government will cover all expenses for the girls’ higher education. However, as sweet as this decision may sound, the statistics tell a different and more realistic story.

According to the “Small Area Estimation of Poverty” report published by the National Statistics Office in 2023, Runtigadhi Rural Municipality still has a poverty rate of 42.49 percent. Out of a total population of 28,285, 12,017 citizens there are forced to live below the extreme poverty line.

Does the municipality only provide support after children go viral, or does it understand their real needs? Simply announcing free education is not enough. : Anil Raghuwanshi, Chairperson, Child Safe Net Child rights activists consider the municipality’s move ‘cosmetic’. Child Safe Net chairperson Raghuwanshi comments that the local government has not acted maturely. “Does the municipality only provide support after the girls go viral, or does it understand their real needs? Simply announcing free education is not enough,” he says. “The state should focus on how to make the roads the girls walk safer and how to implement concepts like ‘walking school bus’ (a group of children walking with an adult).”