From suffragism to parity: conquests and paradoxes in Costa Rica's bicentennial

Abstract

On the eve of Costa Rica’s bicentennial celebration, this article presents the trajectory of Costa Rican women and feminists’ movements in the achievement of their political rights. Therefore, it begins with the suffragist struggle carried out during the first half of the twentieth century, particularly by the Feminist League, which made possible the recognition of these rights to Costa Rican women. Subsequently, the article refers to the contemporary feminist struggles, in the late XX century and early XXI century, aimed at establishing affirmative action mechanisms -such as quotas and parity- that would make it possible to elect more women in popular representation positions. Finally, the article reviews some existing paradoxes in the advancement of the substantive equality and recovers some of the current challenges for the advancement of women human rights agenda.