Web3 activists are fighting for reproductive rights with NFTs, DAOs and protests

by · July 8, 2022

Members of the Web3 community are fighting back against the US Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

On June 24, the landmark trial, which had previously secured the right to abortion, was reversed, triggering a setback among reproductive rights activists in the United States.

Some activists have turned to Web3 solutions, created decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and nonfungible token (NFT) projects focused on raising awareness of women’s reproductive rights.

One of the earliest of these efforts was demonstrated by Nadya Tolokonnikova, a member of the performance activist group Pussy Riot. Tolokonnikova told the Cointelegraph that about three weeks ago, members of Pussy Riot and UnicornDAO – a group that redistributed wealth and visibility for women-identified and LGBTQ + people – staged a protest at the Texas State Capitol in response to the leaked draft statement demonstrating The Supreme Court’s possible decision to overthrow Roe v. Wade. She said:

The protest was called “Matriarchy Now”. We dropped a giant 45-foot banner from the third floor of the Texas Capitol building in Austin that displayed this message. We characterized this as an NFT, which was the first political performance artwork we used to raise money for women’s reproductive rights. ”

“Matriarchy Now” protest. Source: Pussy Riot

Crypto-collection to support reproductive rights

Still, this effort was just a start for Pussy Riot and UnicornDAO. Tolokonnikova said the groups launched another NFT rally on July 7 to further support reproductive rights – this time in response to the official overthrow of Roe v. Wade. John Caldwell, co-founder of UnicornDAO, told the Cointelegraph that this “Proof of Protest” NFT collection allows users to “buy feminism” to demonstrate their “evidence of protest.”

“Proof of Protest” NFT project. Source: Pussy Riot

According to Tolokonnikova, the visual “bottles of feminism” purchased from this NFT drop on the blockchain remain forever, and become an integral part of a person’s digital identity. She said:

“In a few years, no one will be able to tell you that you did nothing when the rights of lifeguards were taken from them. Owns the proof of protest. Burn the patriarchy. Rages on the systems of oppression that tell you they own your body. If you do not have a uterus, race for the rights of your mother, I bet you have one. “

Proof of Protest NFTs, launched on Lens Protocol – a Web3 social graph built on the Polygon blockchain – have already been collected by over 1,300 individuals, demonstrating the importance of women’s reproductive rights in the Web3 community.

Bradley Freeman, head of social growth at Aave – the development team behind Lens Protocol – told Cointelegraph that the Pussy Riot NFTs were marked as publications on Lens Protocol and become NFTs when collected, which is essentially the same concept as like a post on social media. “Lens Protocol believes in ‘collecting’ content online, making NFT publishing as easy as posting or liking a post,” he explained.

Recent: Sales of hardware crypto wallets are increasing as centralized exchanges fail

All funds raised for Pussy Riot’s Proof of Protest NFT release will support reproductive rights organizations through LegalAbortion.eth, the Ethereum wallet created by UnicornDAO, and Endaoment, a public charity. Alexis Miller, head of donor engagement and strategic partnership at Endaoment, told Cointelegraph that the foundation distributes crypto revenue to seven organizations across America that support reproductive rights. She explained:

LegalAbortion.eth is a Web3 Ethereum wallet that any NFT creator, decentralized application or decentralized financial protocol can use to donate crypto. The wallet includes a multi-signature feature that requires multiple private ‘keys’ or users to sign a transaction, ensuring that “Several key holders remain accountable to each other. All LegalAbortion.eth multisig signatories have agreed on the final destination for all funds received, the Endaoments Protect Reproductive Rights Fund.”

Miller shared that Endaoment’s Reproductive Rights Fund raised $ 55,000 from cryptocurrencies immediately after the leaked draft statement demanding the overthrow of Roe v. Wade. “The Foundation then distributes these funds equally to the non-profit organizations we work with, which include the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Texas Choice Fund, the SisterSoung Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective and others,” she added.

Although crypto fundraising for women’s reproductive rights only began in May, Miller mentioned that Endaoment has already allocated a total of $ 425,000 to various non-profit organizations dedicated to helping women. “We have raised this amount between individual donors and through our community. Endaoment’s Reproductive Rights Fund has raised $ 87,000, which includes $ 17,000 raised through LegalAbortion.eth, along with $ 42,000 raised through CowgirlDAO , which sells an NFT collection to support access to abortion, “she said.

Although this number is significantly low compared to other crypto-fundraising initiatives – in an effort to support Ukraine in the current conflict, which has already raised millions in crypto-donations – Miller believes donors and partner projects will continue to flow. “We also have a Ukraine fund where we have raised a lot more in funds, but when the draft statement was leaked, we saw incredible activity, and we saw even more activity when Roe v. Wade was overthrown,” she said.

Moreover, the difference these funds make for recipient nonprofits is remarkable. Rebecca Dreke, CEO of Fund Texas Choice, told Cointelegraph that when the six-week abortion ban went into effect in Texas last year, the organization saw an increase in donors. She added that there were a handful of individuals who asked if Fund Texas Choice also accepted crypto donations. She said:

“We started looking at accepting cryptocurrencies at the time, but it felt overwhelming. So it was serendipital when Endaoment contacted us and asked if they could help us with cryptocurrencies as a third-party nonprofit intermediary. We received nearly $ 100,000 in funding. since they created cryptocurrencies for us. ”

Drake added that all funds received are distributed in US dollars, making it easy for the non-profit organization to accept. As for how the funds will be used, Dreke explained that donations received will be used to enable the mission behind Fund Texas Choice. “We are still dedicated to ensuring fair access to abortion for any Texan who needs it, but we must now examine how this relates to compliance with the law.”

In addition to funds currently being raised to help women navigate their reproductive rights, a number of other projects are underway. For example, Web3 enthusiasts and a community of activists recently launched ChoiceDAO. Sahar Afrakhan, a core member of ChoiceDAO, told Cointelegraph that the project was launched in response to the overthrow of Roe v. Wade and aims to help non-profit organizations and grassroots organizations dedicated to women.

“Our first mission is to raise more than $ 1,000,000 in 26 days for front-line organizations fighting for access to reproductive health care. We know that this is a decade-long battle, and we also know that in order to win, we must activate new people and new ideas, she said. Afrakhan mentioned that ChoiceDAO will soon start accepting cryptocurrencies.

Adriana Arce, CEO and founder of the media company Hauss, also told Cointelegraph that she is launching an NFT project to raise funds for both female creators and the National Network of Abortion Funds. The project is called Nice Fucking Titties, or NFTs for short. “This project allows women to show off their breasts or be completely naked to demonstrate freedom over the body,” Arce said. According to Arce, 5% of the profits generated from “NFTs” will be donated to the National Network of Abortion Funds, while 20% will go back to the female participants.

Challenges can hamper fundraising

While it is noteworthy that the Web3 community is launching initiatives to support reproductive rights, it is still doubtful how these projects will be received. For example, the male-dominated culture in the crypto-community may find these projects less critical compared to other fundraising initiatives. Tolokonnikova is aware of this. However, she believes women’s rights are something the whole Web3 community should take into account:

“We were aware of this reality when we decided to choose crypto as one of our tools for activism. But this is not just about women’s rights. It’s human rights. Everyone has a right.”

The current bear market is also a cause for concern, as donors may be less able or willing to donate due to poor market conditions. Fortunately, Miller noted that LegalAbortion.eth has not seen any changes with its endowments. Part of this is due to the fact that LegalAbotion.eth accepts donations in Circle’s original stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC).

“Many of the funds we opened last year contain USDC, so people have not lost money. “People who donate in USDC also have the same amount of money to give us since stablecoin is linked to US dollars,” she noted. And although ChoiceDAO has not begun accepting cryptocurrencies, Afrakhan mentioned that the community behind the project believes that women’s reproductive rights will be a decade-long struggle. Therefore, “they look far beyond current market conditions.”

How effective will cryptodonations prove to be?

Challenges aside, it is important to examine the overall effectiveness of cryptocurrencies that are collected to support women’s reproductive rights. For example, while cryptocurrencies reached new heights in 2021, industry experts believe more can be done to ensure that women’s voices are heard.

Tolokonnikova explained, for example, that she believes the best course of action would be for women to launch a nationwide strike.

Recently: How Metaverse can revolutionize the fashion industry

“All women in America should stop working to show the world what it would be like without women’s participation. “Everyone could then see how the world would suffer without women,” she remarked. Although a general strike would certainly have an impact, Tolokonnikova believes that crypto collection is a good initiative at the moment. “I think this fundraiser is effective because it helps real people solve real problems,” she said.

As an echo of this, Afrakhan noted that she hopes ChoiceDAO and other social impact DAOs such as UkraineDAO will define the next generation of activists. She said:

Our hope is that this new model of activism goes beyond reproductive health services. Think Fundraising 3.0. Many non-profit organizations and social movements are hampered by capital. We hope to change that by unleashing the potential of the global community in Web3. Any movement can and should take advantage of this. “