Feminism and the fight for equal rights had a slow beginning in Costa Rica. In its earliest days, it entailed women joining with men in protests to safeguard institutions from which only men would benefit. An example of a key woman who did this is Pancha Carrasco, who joined the Costa Rican army as a cook in 1856. Refusing to be bound to the limitations placed on women at that time, she left the kitchen to go into battle. She became a hero in the Battle of Rivas; however, no where is she mentioned in historical documents, although her heroic deeds were confirmed by veterans of the battle.
Pancha led the way to the birth of feminism that would, eventually, succeed in gaining more rights for women.
The right to vote came in 1949, after a long and hard battle fraught with numerous setbacks. Since that day, the feminist movement has focused on other goals, as is noted by Yadira Calvo Fajardo in the book, "The Costa Rican Women's Movement". Fajardo writes, "The goal is no longer one of voting or not voting. What we are insisting is that we shall make our mark, in whatever field we choose to do so."
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