Colombo, Jan 14 (AFP) Sri Lanka has lifted a 39-year banon women buying alcohol or working in places that sell ormanufacture liquor, an official said today.
The 1979 law prohibiting the sale of any type of alcoholto women on the island of 21 million people was overturned inan effort to strike sexist bills from the statute books, saida spokesman for the finance ministry.
"The idea was to restore gender neutrality," Ali Hassentold AFP of the decision Wednesday to roll back the ban.
The move also repeals a ban on women working in placeswhere alcoholic drinks are made or sold, like bars.
Liquor vendors are still forbidden to sell spirits topolice or members of the armed forces in uniform, Hassen said.
Sri Lanka in its November budget unveiled steep tax riseson hard liquor, but greatly reduced tariffs on wine and beer.
Under new measures also passed by Finance MinisterMangala Samaraweera, bars and pubs can remain open longer.
It was unclear why the ban on women was imposed in thefirst place, but a finance ministry official said he believedit was intended to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchyat the time.
The relaxed laws on alcohol have provoked a backlash insome quarters of the majority-Buddhist nation.
The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protectionaccused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, andurged President Maithripala Sirisena to intervene and restorethe restrictions.
Samaraweera has said that strict curbs on Sri Lanka'slicenced liquor manufacturers only encourage a black marketfor spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue.
(AFP)KIS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.