On July 30th, 1950, women voted for the first time in Costa Rica.
Nearly seventy years have passed since Bernarda Vásquez Méndez, a peasant woman from La Tigra, voted in the country in a plebiscite to determine if some villages of La Tigra and La Fortuna belonged to the canton of San Ramón or San Carlos.
That day history was made in the country. The universal suffrage had already been established in the constitution of 1949, after the fight of the Costa Rican Feminist League, entity founded in 1923.
We recognize the struggles of so many women, of the feminist movements, of the Feminist League -one of the pioneers- that fought for women to participate in the political and civil decisions of this country,”
said Alejandra Mora, Minister of the State Of Women and Executive President of the National Institute of Women.
For Mora, great progress has been made, but there are still a number of challenges ahead. For example, compliance with gender parity regulations, elimination of political violence against women, access to resources for training and political training should be improved.
In fact, the INAMU announced that this week 71 women graduated from the course called “Leadership for Change and Information and Communication Technologies,” which was held the Center for Political Training of Women.
After receiving these courses, they are no longer the same. Now they must transmit their knowledge, they must make a personal commitment to generate changes and think with another perspective, from our diversity. Welcome to the world where we believe in equality,”
said Mora.