As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child, women's rights activists point to progress on a wide array of issues but say more needs to be done to protect girls from child marriage, sexual assault and other forms of exploitation. Here is a selection of pictures showing the daily lives of girls across the globe, all taken by female Associated Press photojournalists. Here: In this December 14, 2015, file photo, a young clown rides in the back of a car following a procession to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Hundreds belonging to various clown associations made their annual pilgrimage to the Basilica to pay their respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

Park Ji-soo of South Korea performs her contemporary variation during the final of the 43rd Prix de Lausanne at the Beaulieu Theatre in Lausanne February 7, 2015. The Prix de Lausanne is an annual international dance competition for dancers aged 15 to 18. A total of 67 participants from 18 countries were selected from 300 applicants to take part in this year's week-long competition, from which the jury has shortlisted 20 finalists to compete for Saturday's finals. Six of this year's finalists will be awarded a one-year all expenses paid scholarship at one of the Prix de Lausanne's partner schools or companies, among the most prestigious in the world. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Now celebrating its 40th year, Nikon Small World is widely regarded as the leading forum to recognize proficiency and photographic excellence of photography taken under the microscope. To select the winners, competition judges analyzed entries from all over the world covering subjects ranging from chemical compounds to up-close-and-personal looks at biological specimens. The 2014 winners will be revealed on October 30th. In 2014, the competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. (Photo by Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz/Nikon Small World 2014)

A face mask is placed on one of the 'Three business men who brought lunch' statues on Swanston street on March 29, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. All international arrivals into Australia from midnight on Saturday will be placed into mandatory quarantine in hotels for 14 days as the Federal Government increases restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

“One Third” – a project on food waste by an Austrian photography Klaus Pichler. According to a UN study one third of the world's food goes to waste – the largest part thereof in the industrialized nations of the global north. Equally, 925 million people around the world are threatened by starvation. The series “One Third” describes the connection between individual wastage of food and globalized food production.

Photo: Pineapple. Place of production: Guayaquil, Ecuador. Cultivation method: Outdoor plantation • Time of harvest: All- season. Transporting distance: 10.666 km (linear distance) • Means of transportation: Aircraft, truck. Carbon footprint (total) per kg: 11,94 kg • Water requirement (total) per kg: 360 l. Price: 2,10 € / kg. (Photo by Klaus Picher)

The first four finalists are selected during the 66th Miss Universe pageant at Planet Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 26, 2017. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Union Berlin players celebrate after the Bundesliga playoff second leg match between 1. FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart at Stadion an der alten Foersterei on May 27, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Annegret Hilse/Reuters)