Sri Lanka President rejects move to allow women to buy alcohol
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A move to grant women in Sri Lanka the same rights as men to buy alcohol legally has been overruled by President Maithripala Sirisena.
He told a rally he had ordered the government to withdraw the reform, which would also have allowed women to work in bars without a permit.
He said he had only found out about the move from the newspapers.
The government announced on Wednesday it was amending a 1955 law, agreeing that it discriminated against women.
Critics have accused the president of not taking gender equality seriously.
