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)

An ethnic Kayan woman, also known as a long neck villager casts her vote for the general election in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, March 24, 2019. This is Thailand's first election since a military coup in 2014. Voters head to the polls to elect members of the lower house and Prime Minister. (Photo by Ann Wang/Reuters)

Gigi Hadid, American fashion designer Jeremy Scott and Bella Hadid pose backstage of the Moschino fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022/2023 on February 24, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

An abortion rights demonstrator covered in fake blood during an “Abortion is Freedom” rally outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., US, on Monday, July 4, 2022. Last month the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and wiped out the constitutional right to abortion, leaving it to individual states to decide whether abortions are allowed. (Photo by Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

People take part in a military exercise for civilians conducted by veterans of the Ukrainian National Guard Azov battalion, amid threat of Russian invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine on January 30, 2022. According to a survey conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) from December 2021, 50.2 percent of Ukrainians said they would resist in case of a Russian military intervention into their city, town or village. Every third respondent to the poll said they were ready to engage in armed resistance, and 21.7 percent said they were ready to participate in civil resistance actions. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Relatives gather to identify bodies in the village of Nyamukubi, South Kivu province, Congo, Saturday, May 6, 2023. The death toll from flash floods and landslides in eastern Congo has risen to over 150, with some 100 people still missing, according to a provisional assessment given by the governor and authorities in the country's South Kivu province. (Photo by Moses Sawasawa/AP Photo)

Queen of drums, Sabrina Sato of Unidos de Vila Isabel samba school during the Champions Parade on the last day of Rio de Janeiro 2022 Carnival at Marques de Sapucai Sambadrome on May 01, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro's iconic carnival returns to the sambodrome after a two year suspension and postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)