Thelma Curling Rodríguez (born 19 February 1933) is a jurist and politician from Costa Rica. She is a defender of women's rights and was the first woman of Afro-Costa Rican descent to become a member of the Parliament of Costa Rica.
Theresa Curling Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Parliament of Costa Rica | |
| In office 1982–1986 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 February 1933 San José, Costa Rica |
| Alma mater | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Profession | Judge, Lawyer |
Early life and education
editShe was born in the Costa Rican capital San José and attended elementary school in the Escuela España and high school in the Colegio Superior de Señoritas.[1] Following she studied law in the University of Costa Rica and became a lawyer in 1959.[1] Influenced by her Afro Costa Rican descent, she chose Limón to work as a lawyer.[1]
Professional career
editHaving arrived in Limon, she became a teacher from 1960 to 1962.[1] As a lawyer she represented the banks Banco Nacional de Costa Rica and Banco Crédito Agrícola of Cartago.[2] In the province of Limon she was a judge in several courts.[3] Internationally, she represented Costa Rica in the Commission on the Status of Women of the United Nations between 1971 and 1988[2] and took part in women rights related congresses in Tunisia, Brazil or Mexico.[3] In Switzerland she attended an exhibit on Women Peasants from Costa Rica with the writer Carmen Naranjo and in South Africa she took part in the Black Women Congress in 1995.[3] In 2014 she was elected the president of the Workers Union of Women of Costa Rica.[4] In 2021, she was one of the women portrayed during the exhibit Impronta Femenina Costa Rica 1821–2021 in the Museo de Jade in San José.[5]
Political career
editBetween 1970 and 1974 she acted as the Municipal President of the Canton Limón[6][7] and between 1982 and 1986 she was a member of Parliament as the first women of Afro Costa Rican descent,[6][8][9] and also the first woman to represent the province of Limón.[3] She is a member of the National Liberation Party (PLN) for which she led the women's branch for eighteen years.[6]
Political position
editA known defender of women's rights, she encouraged women from Limón province to take part in the political process, be it as a voters or present to themselves as candidates.[2] She also demanded better education conditions for women.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Afrodescentientes de Valía" (PDF). UNICEF (in Spanish). Limon, Costa Rica: Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). 2010. p. 26.
- ^ a b c d "Afrodescentientes de Valía", p. 28
- ^ a b c d "Afrodescentientes de Valía", p. 27
- ^ "Logros Femininos a traves de la historia" (PDF). Boletin Invormativo. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Museo del Jade de Costa Rica resalta los aportes de las mujeres al país". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-08.
- ^ a b c Hernández, Hortensia. "Thelma Curling Rodríguez abogada, jueza y lideresa política de Costa Rica". Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Cedillo Delgado, Rafael (2020), p. 259
- ^ Parnass, Sarah (3 April 2018). "Analysis | Epsy Campbell Barr is Costa Rica's first female black vice president". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Cedillo Delgado, Rafael (2020). "Representación política de indígenas y afrodescendientes en América Latina" (PDF). Toluca, Mexico: Instituto Electoral del Estado de México. pp. 259, 264.