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)

Russian riot policemen beat young PREGNANT female anti-Putin activist during a protest rally against the Presidential inauguration of Vladimir Putin on May 6, 2012 in Moscow, Russia.

Members of the Jordanian police women's team attend the 7th Annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center in Amman April 22, 2015. Thirty-eight teams from 18 countries are participating in the competition to test their military skills. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

Women clash with police officers behind riot shields during a protest in support of Victoria Salazar, a Salvadoran woman who died after a Mexican female police officer was seen in a video kneeling on her back, in Mexico City, Mexico on April 2, 2021. (Photo by Raquel Cunha/Reuters)

Ethiopian Airlines female pilots prepare the plane before takeoff at Bole international airport in the capital Addis Ababa, November 19, 2015. Ethiopia Airlines on Thursday, dispatched its first ever all-female operated flight. Every aspect of the journey was handled by women, from the ground crew, aircraft maintenance to traffic controllers. Gualu and her co-pilot were charged with flying the crew and passengers to Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

A Palestinian female volunteers for the al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militant group part of Fatah movement, stands with her weapon in this undated photo. Unlike Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the ideology of al-Aqsa is rooted in Palestinian nationalism not political Islam, and is the only Palestinian group that accepts and trains women to be “martyrs”. (Photograph by Courtney Kealy/Getty Images)

Police take part in a role play exercise as they clear a protest on top of a train during training on March 6, 2012 in Oxenhope, England. A new team of specialist officers set up to deal with searches and policing at a height, such as on top of a train, undergo training exercise in Oxenhope, West Yorkshire. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

Members of Germany's elite police unit, the Spezialeinsatzkommando, or SEK, demonstrate an abseil deployment from a helicopter during a media event on March 20, 2012 in Minden, Germany. The SEK is the special response team of Germany's state police force and typically deploys in high-risk situations, such as bank robberies, hostage takings and the arrest of armed and dangerous fugitives. (Photo by Thomas Starke/Getty Images)