On Monday (Nov. 23), President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, a small West African country surrounded by Senegal, announced the country is banning female genital mutilation (FGM).

The change, which is effective immediately, was largely inspired by The Guardian's global campaign to end the practice.

According to the outlet, "FGM involves cutting female genitalia -- often when girls are young -- to remove their labia and clitoris, which often leads to lifelong health complications, including bleeding, infections, vaginal pain and infertility." In The Gambia alone, it's estimated that 76 percent of women in the country have been subjected to FGM, and that 56 percent of those women have had the procedure by age fourteen.

"I'm really amazed that the president did this...I didn't expect this in a million years," Jaha Dukureh, an anti-FGM activist, told The Guardian. I'm just really proud of my country and I'm really, really happy. I think the president cared about the issue, it was just something that was never brought to his attention."

While 18 African countries have banned the practice, sadly, it's still a widespread issue in Africa and some countries in the Middle East. According to the organization End FGM, "Countries with high prevalence rates (more than 85 percent) are for example Somalia, Egypt and Mali. Low prevalence rates ( under 30 percent) are found in for example Senegal, Central African Republic and Nigeria."

But really, when it comes to FGM, there's no such thing as a "low prevalence rate" -- one woman who suffers because of this is too high.