The government of the West African state of Senegal has banned the practice known as female circumcision, which involves the genital mutilation of young girls.

Those who carry it out will face a prison term of between one and five years.

The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that seven-hundred-thousand women in Senegal -- about one in four -- have suffered genital mutilation.

Worldwide, it estimates that well over one-hundred-million women have been subjected to it.

Supporters of the practice say it is done for cultural and religious reasons, but opponents say it's an extreme form of oppression of women.