Competitors take part in the annual Mud Madness event at Foymore Lodge on April 22, 2018 in Portadown, Northern Ireland. The adult version of the event includes two laps of an 8km course through 25 obstacles while the kids event is run over 2kms. The race is in it's eleventh year and is sponsored by McVities Jaffa Cakes and event charity partner Marie Curie together with other numerous charities and fundraising groups. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

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)

In this photo taken on Saturday, January 26, 2019 photo, rescued flamingo chicks have access to water at a centre after being rescued from a dried out dam in Kimberley, South Africa. A special airlift for thousands of baby flamingos is under way in South Africa as drought has put their breeding ground in peril. A reservoir that hosts one of southern Africa's largest flamingo populations is drying up. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

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)

Skiers and snowboarders in swimwear during the Grelka Fest-2019 Festival at the Sheregesh ski resort, Kemerovo Region, Russia on April 13, 2019. (Photo by Kirill Kukhmar/TASS)

A demonstrator is detained by riot police during a protest, in La Paz, Bolivia on November 21, 2019. Bolivia's interim President Jeanine Anez asked Congress Wednesday to approve a law that would allow for new elections, after deadly unrest following the resignation of Evo Morales and the disputed October 20 ballot. (Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters)

In this Sunday, March 29, 2015 photo, a young performer from the Parinacochas district of Ayacuhco dances in the Vencedores de Ayacucho dance festival, in the Acho bullring in Lima, Peru. The performers sang in the Quechua language, portraying the planting of corn and potatoes. From very young children to elderly people dressed as farmers, tigers, and foxes, as well as members of auto-defense groups, soldiers and police officers, to portray the violence that tore apart their families and communities. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Hundreds of festive, adorable canines and their owners took part in the annual “A Very Corgi Howloween” costume walk Saturday, October 25, 2014, at Green Lake in Seattle, Wash. The walk was put on by the Seattle-local “Corgi's R Us” MeetUp group. (Photo by Jordan Stead/AP Photo/Seattlepi.com)