A reveler in costume laughs during the “Cordao do Boitata” street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, February 24, 2019, one of the many parades before the official start of Carnival on March 1. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

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)

A boy removes rain water from his hut after a heavy downpour in Karachi, Pakistan, 28 August 2016. Heavy monsoon rains across the country has claimed dozens of lives in last few weeks as Pakistan Meteorological Departmen office predict more rains in coming days. (Photo by Shahzaib Akber/EPA)

A woman arrives to cast her vote at a polling station as police officers stand guard during the general election, in Peshawar, Pakistan on February 8, 2024. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

(2nd from R) Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell reacts to advancing, en route to victory, at the Miss America Pageant at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 13, 2015. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)

In this December 23, 2013 photo, Indian army soldiers patrol near one of their forward post at the Line of Control (LOC), that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, at Krishna Ghati (KG Sector) in Poonch, 290 kilometers (180 miles) from Jammu, India. The military commanders of longtime rivals India and Pakistan met on Tuesday in a bid to stop frequent cross-border attacks in disputed Kashmir which escalated tensions in the region in recent months. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)

A participant covers himself with a blanket as it rains at the venue of the World Culture Festival on the banks of a river in New Delhi, India, March 11, 2016. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

A policeman kick in the door of a residence next to the Black Panther headquarters in New Orleans as they moved in following a shootout, September 15, 1970. Other heavily armed policemen stand at ready. (Photo by Jack Thornell/AP Photo)