Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena reimposed a four-decade-long ban on women buying alcohol, just days after his finance minister had lifted the restriction.
a. 1946
b. 1948
c. 1950
d. 1944
- He ordered the country’s finance minister, Mangala Samaraweera, to revoke his decision that would have allowed women to buy alcoholic drinks for first time in nearly 40 years.
- The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection had accused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, and had urged Sirisena to intervene and restore the restrictions.
- The ban on women buying liquor was imposed in 1979 prohibiting the sale of any type of alcohol to women.
- The Buddhist clergy play an important role in the Sri Lankan society. The Sinhalese Buddhists account for more than 70% of the island nation’s population. Therefore such a move made by the Finance Minister would have damaged Sri Lanka’s Buddhist values.
- This move comes as the government’s main coalition partners, the center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s center-right United National Party, are campaigning for the local elections. Sri Lanka will hold local government elections on 10th February 2018.
About Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is officially known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. It is an island country in South Asia which was known as Ceylon from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972. It became independent on 4th February 1948. The island nation underwent a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. The currency used in the island nation is Sri Lankan Rupee (SLR). Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait.Expected Questions
In which year Sri Lanka became independent?a. 1946
b. 1948
c. 1950
d. 1944
