Iranian soccer fan wait for the start of the group B match between Iran and Spain at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday, June 20, 2018. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA/EFE)

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)

A member of North Korean military holds flowers to be laid at the bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, December 17, 2018. North Koreans are marking the seventh anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il with visits to the statues and vows of loyalty to his son, Kim Jong Un. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP Photo)

The players of Denmark huddle prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier match between Denmark and Sweden at Viborg Stadion on September 4, 2018 in Viborg, Denmark. (Photo by Lars Ronbog/FrontZoneSport via Getty Images)

The Tianzi Hotel with the shape of Chinese deities Fu, Lu and Shou is pictured on November 20, 2017 in Langfang, Hebei Province of China. The 41.6-meter-tall Tianzi Hotel has an exterior of Chinese Sanxing, whose names are Fu, Lu and Shou with the qualities of prosperity, status and longevity in traditional Chinese culture, in Langfang city. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A Palestinian woman takes a picture of a member of the Israeli security forces as he takes her picture in a street in Jerusalem on December 16, 2017, as demonstrations continue to flare in the Middle East and elsewhere over the US president' s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel' s capital. (Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Photo)

North Korean cheerleaders arrive at a rest stop, or service station, as their bus convoy carrying a 280- member delegation on its way to the 2018 Pyeongchang winter Olympic games, makes its way past Gapyeong on February 7, 2018 More than 200 young North Korean women arrived in South Korea to root for athletes from both sides of the peninsula at the Winter Olympics. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

Hotel ushers pose for a photo at Tiananmen Square as delegates attend the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, March 9, 2018. The CPPCC is the top advisory body of the Chinese political system and runs alongside the annual plenary meetings of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), together known as “Lianghui” or “Two Meetings”. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)