COLOMBO, Sept 19: Following intense criticism and pressure from women and child rights groups, the Sri Lankan government has dropped the idea of lowering the age of consensual sex for girls from 16 to 13.

“There is no proposal, whatsoever, to reduce that to 13 or to any other age,” Dhara Wijayatillake, a secretary in the ministry of justice said two days after government spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva told journalists at a news briefing that the cabinet had passed a proposal to bring down the age of consent to 13 years.

However, the secretary of the Justice Ministry admitted that the law might be amended to give the attorney-general power to decide in a case where both individuals were young and had the consent of the girl.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT: School principals and teachers are protesting over a circular by the ministry of education which forbids them to use corporal punishment.