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)

Ballerinas perform during an ice-cream factory promotional event at an observation floor of the Moscow International Business Centre, also known as “Moskva-City”, in Moscow, Russia October 25, 2018. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

Principal of the Royal Ballet, Natalia Osipova, performs outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, England on November 21, 2018, where she is starring in the new contemporary ballet “The Mother”. (PHoto by Jane Barlow/PA Wire via ZUMA Press)

A remote-controlled plane in the form of a witch flies over a neighborhood as the sun sets during Halloween in Encinitas, California, U.S. October 31, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees stand during a graduation ceremony of the affiliate special forces of the Popular Resistance, in Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz October 8, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Smoke billows from a high-rise apartment building in west London Wednesday, June 14, 2017. A massive fire raced through the building early Wednesday, emergency officials said. (Photo by Rick Findler/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Enjoying a tickle from her keeper, an orphaned orangutan at the SOCP Quarantine Centre in Sumatra, Indonesia on March 20, 2016. The island’s orangutan population has been devastated in recent years as the forest areas are destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations. (Photo by Jami Tarris/Barcroft Media)

Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)