Many people in Kapchorwa feel that female circumcision should continue

An American organisation - which opposes the circumcision of girls - is giving 100 scholarships to girls who have chosen not to go through the rites.

The United States - Uganda Godparents Association is also offering livestock to Sabiny parents who do not send their daughters to be circumcised during this year's traditional ceremony.

Cattle, goats and money for scholarships are due to be handed out this Thursday during festivities which will mark the start of this year's circumcision season.

Both male and female circumcision were compulsory for Sabiny people until 1990 when the government insisted that it should be optional.

For and against

Many people in Kapchorwa feel that female circumcision should continue.

They say it serves as a form of identity, and initiates girls into womanhood.

Many of the fiercest advocates of the practice are women who themselves have been circumcised.

Others say that the practice of female genital mutilation is harmful and unnecessary.

Uncircumcised Sabiny women often encounter prejudice in their daily lives.

For example, they are not allowed to collect cow dung to plaster their huts.

Some are also denied access to village granaries, and others are not allowed to serve visitors on the grounds that they have not yet been initiated into womanhood.