Lidia Fernández Jiménez (also often spelled Lydia Fernández) was a Costa Rican suffragist and feminist active between 1920 and 1940 in the struggle for women's right to vote. In 1923, Mexican feminist

Elena Arizmendi Mejia Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Raymond Elena (1931-2024), French former professional racing cyclist. * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine El ...

who was living in New York and publishing a magazine ''Feminismo Internacional'' (International Feminism) invited women all over the world to create subsidiaries of the

International League of Iberian and Latin American Women International League of Iberian and Latin American Women (Liga Internacional de Mujeres Ibéricas e Hispanoamericanas) is an international organization of Latin American and Iberian women founded in 1921 by liberal feminists from both regions. Ear ...

on 12 October of that year. As a result,

Ángela Acuña Braun Ángela Acuña Braun, also known as Ángela Acuña de Chacón, (2 October 1888 – 10 October 1983), a Costa Rican lawyer, women's rights pioneer and ambassador, was the first woman to graduate as a lawyer in Central America. Orphaned at the a ...

called together a group to found the

Liga Feminista Costarricense The Liga Feminista Costarricense (Costa Rican Feminist League) was the first feminist organization formed in Costa Rica. In 1923, Mexican feminist Elena Arizmendi Mejia who was living in New York and publishing a magazine ''Feminismo Internacional ...

(LFC), first feminist organization in Costa Rica. The inaugural members were Acuña (president),

Esther De Mezerville Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and mar ...

(vice president),

Ana Rosa Chacón Ana Rosa Chacón (1889 – 28 March 1985) was a Costa Rican educator, health education practitioner, feminist and suffragette. In 1953, in the first election held after women became enfranchised in Costa Rica, Chacón became one of the first th ...

(secretary), and Fernández, along with around 20 others. In 1926, Acuña went to Europe and Fernández succeeded her as president of the LFC."Abshagen Leitinger (1994)", p. 75 In 1928, when the

Pan-American Conference The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union, an international organization for Free trade agreement, cooperation on trade. James G. Blaine, a United States pol ...

met and established the

Inter-American Commission of Women The Inter-American Commission of Women (, , ), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the Organization of American States. It was established in 1928 by the Sixth Pan-American Conference and is composed of one female representative ...

(CIM) an international group of women pressured Costa Rica to send Fernández as the delegate, but instead the country sent Alejandro Aguilar Machado, who did agree to the creation of the CIM. The first meeting of the CIM was held in Havana in 1930. The members were, Flora de Oliveira Lima (Brazil),

Aída Parada Aída Parada Hernández (October 1903 – 16 October 1983) was a Chilean educator, feminist, founding member of Movimiento Pro-Emancipación de las Mujeres de Chile (Pro-Emancipation Movement of Chilean Women) and the first Chilean delegate to th ...

(Chile), Lidia Fernández (Costa Rica), Elena Mederos de González (Cuba), Gloria Moya de Jiménez (Dominican Republic),

Irene de Peyré Irene de Peyré or Irene Oliveros de Peyré (October 20, 1873 in Santa Rosa Department, Guatemala – June 28, 1968 in Guatemala City, Guatemala) was a Guatemalan educator and feminist. She attended the teacher's training school, Instituto Nor ...

(Guatemala),

Margarita Robles de Mendoza Margarita Robles de Mendoza (1896-1954) was a Mexican feminist and suffragette. She was one of the most vocal proponents for Mexican women's enfranchisement during the 1930s and 1940s and often seen as controversial. She worked as a journalist an ...

(Mexico), Juanita Molina de Fromen (Nicaragua),

Clara González Clara González (1898–1990) was a Panamanian feminist, lawyer, judge, and activist. She became the first Panamanian woman to earn her Bachelor of Law Degree in 1922. The same year, she created the ''Partido Nacional Feminista'' (PNF, National F ...

(Panama), Teresa Obregoso de Prevost (Peru), and

Doris Stevens Doris Stevens (born Dora Caroline Stevens; October 26, 1888 – March 22, 1963) was an American suffragist, woman's legal rights advocate and author. She was the first female member of the American Institute of International Law and first chai ...

(USA). In 1934, the LFC called together a commission to meet with legislative delegates. The commission was made up of educated professional women from law, sociology, education, fine arts and health professionals who made presentations to convince the legislators that the lack of civic and political rights had severe consequences for women. Fernández was part of the committee that prepared the report on health and hygiene. Despite agreeing that lack of rights impacted women, the legislators took no action. In 1938, Fernández resigned from the CIM, after serving eight years and was replaced by Acuña.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Lidia Costa Rican academics Costa Rican diplomats Costa Rican suffragists Costa Rican feminists Costa Rican women activists Year of death missing