Ladies wish to purchase liquor -- a different case filed by Swarna too

Ladies wish to purchase liquor -- a different case filed by Swarna too

Sometime back a gazette was issued by the Ministry of Finance granting permission for ladies to purchase liquor and the President intervened in that instance and a petition was filed today at supreme courts for the second time against it. Distinguished actress Swarna Mallawaarachchi together with 20

others had filed this petition and in the petition it was mentioned that the necessity for ladies to consume liquor should not be disregarded and saying that ladies do not have a similar right as much as men would demean the female folk and it is a violation of human rights.

Prior to this, actress Samanali Fonseka of the new generation including 11 others had filed similar action through a different petition and both petitions would be taken into consideration in the future, it is hoped.

Human rights activist Menaka Galgamuwa who placed her signature to the said petition said that the 1979 constitution has treated women with a different spoon and had thereby humiliated them. "This is not about women who consume liquor. Nowhere is it stated in the law of 1979 that women cannot consume liquor. As far as the men-folk could purchase liquor ... the women-folk could consume liquor". Among those who placed their signatures to the petition are pioneer chairman of Ladies Commercial Board Claude de soysa and social activist Savithri Rodrigo.