Sloth “Paula” hangs from a branch in her enclosure at the zoo in Halle an der Saale, eastern Germany, on June 14, 2019. The two-toed sloth celebrated her 50th birthday and is, according to the zoo, the oldest sloth of the world. (Photo by Hendrik Schmidt/dpa/AFP Photo)

A squid swims underwater off the shore of the coastal city of Qalamun, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, on September 24, 2019. (Photo by Ibrahim Chalhoub/AFP Photo)

A grey seal basks under a rainbow on a beach on the Lincolnshire coast, England on November 21, 2017. (Photo by Sean Weekly/Caters News Agency)

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)

Miss Lovely Legs competition at the Pick 'n Pay hypermarket in Boksburg, South Africa, 1980. (Photo by David Goldblatt/Museum of Contemporary Art Australia)

Picture shows a mural painting in Ferrol, on September 2, 2018, during the annual street art festival “Meninas de Canido” set up in 2008 to breathe new life in a dying neighborhood. Angry at the announced death of his neighborhood, Canido, in Ferrol, Eduardo Hermida painted his version of Velazquez's “Meninas” on a wall. An act of protest that gave birth to a festival and gave new colors to this city of Galicia. (Photo by Miguel Riopa/AFP Photo)

A goat wearing a sweater walks in a field in New Delhi, India, Thursday, January 17, 2019. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

An ostrich is seen at Woburn Safari park before its opening as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions begin to ease, in Woburn, Britain on April 11, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Boyers/Reuters)