Drinking is only for the man!

By Chathuri Dissanayake

According to an archaic law it looks as if all the pubs, bars and night clubs in reputed hotels around the country are breaking the law. (No one is complaining though!)

In this modern day and age of equal opportunities and women’s rights some of the laws in our country are from the Stone Age. Here is something for the die hard feminists to take note of! Under a gazette notification on the sale of liquor, which is still in force, no liquor can be sold or given to a woman within the premises of a tavern.

The gazette notification 666 issued in 1979 also clearly prohibits a female person of any age from selling liquor. Only with special permission from the Excise Commissioner can a female over the age of 18 be employed in a bar and that too only as a waitress.

Deputy Excise commissioner (Crimes) V. Hapuaarachi told The Sunday Times FT that this applies to liquor sold in places such as bars, clubs and supermarkets.

Hapuarachchi agrees that the laws are rather outdated and that it doesn’t suit the present day where women have equal rights though it has not been legally established even after the new constitution. “We will be updating these outdated regulations under the Customs, Excise and Inland Revenue reforms that are underway now,” he said.

Generally the law is ignored but in two cases last week women who went into two separate supermarkets to buy liquor were politely told that they cannot sell to women. One cashier asked the customer to “send her driver.” But in another case reported, a woman was able to purchase a bottle at a third, separate supermarket.

A female colleague, commenting on the issue, said “It’s not the fact that I want to buy liquor or will buy liquor but the fact is if I want to I should be able to do so. If I am not allowed to buy liquor because I am a woman then that is discrimination.”