Kampala - Ugandan legislators have drafted a bill that will allow those who practise female genital mutilation to be sentenced to seven years in prison, reports said Friday.

Members of parliament told The Daily Monitor Newspaper that the bill should be enacted in March 2009.

The traditional practice, which involves the partial or total removal of the outer parts of the female genital organs, is designed to impair the sexual sensitivity of women.

Women's rights groups and MPs have condemned the practice, which they say violates the rights of women and sometimes leads to death.

In November, leaders of the Sabiny tribe, an eastern Ugandan group that carries out female genital mutilation, passed a by-law outlawing the practice.

The Daily Monitor Newspaper quoted the deputy speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga as saying that local leaders among the Sabiny have been directed to impound all the knives used in the practice.

"The district of Kapchorwa has already made a by-law criminalizing it and they want the government to help them fight the dehumanizing act," Kadaga said.

Female genital mutilation, which also brings health complications for victims in pregnancy, is practiced in many African countries including Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. (dpa)