Mark Dill and Brit Thacker practice acro-yoga as approximately 70,000 people from all over the world gather for the 30th annual Burning Man arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, U.S. August 29, 2016. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

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)

Now celebrating its 40th year, Nikon Small World is widely regarded as the leading forum to recognize proficiency and photographic excellence of photography taken under the microscope. To select the winners, competition judges analyzed entries from all over the world covering subjects ranging from chemical compounds to up-close-and-personal looks at biological specimens. The 2014 winners will be revealed on October 30th. In 2014, the competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. (Photo by Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz/Nikon Small World 2014)

Park Ji-soo of South Korea performs her contemporary variation during the final of the 43rd Prix de Lausanne at the Beaulieu Theatre in Lausanne February 7, 2015. The Prix de Lausanne is an annual international dance competition for dancers aged 15 to 18. A total of 67 participants from 18 countries were selected from 300 applicants to take part in this year's week-long competition, from which the jury has shortlisted 20 finalists to compete for Saturday's finals. Six of this year's finalists will be awarded a one-year all expenses paid scholarship at one of the Prix de Lausanne's partner schools or companies, among the most prestigious in the world. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Peasants celebrate a traditional festival “Corpus Cristhi” since the time of the conquest, in Anolaima in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia on June 29, 2022. Peasants collect all kinds of fruits and assemble great representative figures in gratitude to God for this festival. (Photo by Yair Suarez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

An India Christian devotee reenacts the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the occasion of Good Friday in Mumbai, India, Friday, March 29, 2013. Christians all over the world are marking Good Friday, the day when Christ was crucified. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

Cemetery workers repaint tombs inside the municipal cemetery in Navotas city, north of Manila October 29, 2015. Filipinos are preparing to celebrate All Saints Day on November 1 by visiting the graves of their departed loved ones. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Reuters)

A female Marine prepares to throw a practice grenade during Marine Combat Training (MCT) on February 21, 2013 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Since 1988 all non-infantry enlisted male Marines have been required to complete 29 days of basic combat skills training at MCT after graduating from boot camp. MCT has been required for all enlisted female Marines since 1997. About six percent of enlisted Marines are female. (Photo by Scott Olson)