UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The women of Malicounda in Senegal forced an end Thursday to a dangerous practice carried out on young girls when their nation joined the ranks of countries banning female circumcision.

Their victory was viewed as a solid step in efforts to eradicate the practice which health experts say drastically limits normal bodily functions, destroys sexual pleasure, and causes scarring, infection and long-term complications if the girl survives.

Carol Bellamy -- director of UNICEF, the U.N. Children's Fund -- on Thursday applauded Senegal saying the action was "of great significance because it reflects the resolve of African women to end a cruel and unacceptable practice which violates the right of all girls to free, safe and healthy lives."

Senegal's legislation, approved by its parliament late Wednesday, institutes prison terms of up to five years for ban violators. Female circumcision had been imposed on about one-fifth of the girls in the West African country.

Senegal joins Burkino Faso, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea and Togo in outlawing the practice.

The operation, called female genital mutilation by critics and typically performed on girls before puberty, ranges from cutting the tip of the clitoris to removing all external genitals.

The practice involves a painful operation, often carried out with crude, unsterile instruments.

Potential health problems include difficult childbirth, bleeding, infection and sometimes death. The procedure is often performed with unsanitary methods.

Female circumcision is considered an important custom in dozens of countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, where girls may be seen as unclean and undeserving of marriage if they have not undergone it.

Because sexual contact is often uncomfortable or even extremely painful for circumcised women, some husbands believe it prevents their wives from being unfaithful.

Bellamy credited women from the Senegalese village of Malicounda with beginning the campaign to outlaw the practice in their country.

She said they persuaded husbands and village elders to take an oath ending the practice, after which the campaign spread to other villages with the support of President Abdou Diouf

The World Health Organization estimates that 130 million women and girls, most of them in 28 African countries, have been subjected to genital mutilation. Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan account for 75 percent of the cases.

Circumcision is practiced on young girls to a lesser extent in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and India, which have sizable Muslim populations.

The practice is believed to have started 4,000 years ago before the advent of organized religion. It is performed primarily, but not solely, by Muslims because of what many say is a misconception that it is required by Islam.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.