Woke taxpayer-funded agency brands the words 'mother and father' as 'oppressive'

Readers are told to ditch the "unnecessarily gendered" terms in favour of "anti-oppressive" alternatives; girls or guys should be referred to as "colleagues" or "everyone", while "mother" or "father" should be replaced with gender-neutral words like "parent" or "guardian".

The guide also contains a litany of guidelines on how to refer to developing countries, foreign aid, climate change - all with the aim of boosting inclusivity in the organisation.

"Aid" or "foreign aid" are, again, "problematic phrases" as they "deny the unjust distribution of resources" which make aid necessary, Sida says - instead, the guide pushes readers to refer to it as "global redistribution".

Elsewhere, Sida says talking about the "developing/developed world" or "first/third world" is "hierarchical" and "exploitative" - "majority world" is the ideal terminology, the charity says.

Sida's guide says: "Our inclusive language guide aims to help colleagues avoid bias, stop reinforcing existing power structures, and convey respect.

"With this language guide we hope to ensure our language is contributing to - not getting in the way of - the fundamental changes we are looking to make in the world: equality, inclusion, fairness, decolonisation, and global justice."

MORE WOKE MADNESS:

• Woke video game designer REFUSES to hire white people because they're 'hard to work with'
  
• We must be PROUD to be British! Woke political opportunists are desperate to make us feel otherwise, says Howard Cox
• ‘Ashamed of our own flag!’ Britons rage at Team GB’s ‘woke’ revamp: ‘Trying to eradicate us’

The guide also slams the phrases global warming, global heating and climate change as problematic - because they are not descriptive enough of what Sida calls an "emergent global crisis"; the organisation suggests "climate crisis" as an alternative, and "climate emergency" as an ideal.

But a number of prominent groups have hit back at Sida's messaging; a spokesman from the Free Speech Union said: "The only word I'd ban is 'problematic'.

"It's an attempt to gloss over the fact that the real reason these red pencil-wielding zealots want to ban words like mother and father is to enforce radical progressive dogma. ­

"'Problematic' is a euphemism for 'things I would like to ban for ­narrow ideological reasons'."

John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "This organisation is proposing changes to language based on a radical ideological programme, and is using taxpayers' cash as its support structure.

"The Scottish Government should withdraw funding."

Frances Guy, Sida's chief executive, said: "The language guide is aimed at Sida’s members to encourage them to reflect on how language can reinforce existing power structures, and consider alternative terms that support equality, inclusion, fairness, decolonisation, and global justice.

"We make no mention of banning any words and are clear that context is important.

"With specific regard to the terms Mother and Father, we simply encourage people to reflect as to whether a gendered term is most appropriate, or if in fact the reference is to a parent or guardian.

"Of course, if one is referring to a Mother then the term Mother should be used."