Liberal NGO imperialism uses, or at least used to use, FGM as a bludgeon. There are a great diversity of “female circumcision” practices. Some, like infibulation, are horrible and cause enormous damage and trauma. Some involve or more less destructive surgical mutilation, including some practices which are directly analogous to male circumcision. And some, and this is where the NGO imperialism becomes more obvious, don’t involve any cutting or removal of tissue. In some cases a needle is used to produce a drop of blood which is considered sufficient to achieve the necessary ritual cleanliness or whatever. In some cases there’s no blood at all - In one example a needle is held near the clitoral hood and a drop of chicken blood is dabbed on the body - The “circumcision” has become entirely symbolic with no actual harm to the child.

But infibulation and other practices where there is actual cutting are so horrifying to westerners (and many people from the cultures where it’s practiced) that NGOs found if they inform westerners about infibulation, then use the broad term “FGM” to encompass many different practices from across a broad swath of the world. All those cultures would be stained by the association with infibulation, and NGOs could use this to justify whatever interventions they wanted to carry out under a “save the women” campaign.