ABSTRACT
The idea that the status of childhood is vastly different from that of adulthood is now firmly embedded within societies in both the Global North and the Global South. Such a distinction associates adults with all the attributes that children are perceived to lack such as maturity and competence. However, not all societies make the same dramatic distinction between adults and children and, therefore, they do not necessarily view childhood as a phase of life centred around incompetence, incapability, and immaturity. This results in a significant tension between principles underlying dominant children’s rights discourses, and any attendant initiatives seeking to realize them on one hand, and diverse communities that understand the distinction between childhood and adulthood in substantially different ways on the other. This, therefore, requires a new approach to thinking about childhood and adulthood, and the assumptions made about the competence levels that are typically associated with both phases of life. Drawing on Akan (of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire) notions of personhood and social relations, this chapter explores different understandings of childhood and children’s capability and examines their utility for an alternative children’s rights discourse which does not take childhood incompetence as its departure point.
