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 member of North Korean military holds flowers to be laid at the bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, December 17, 2018. North Koreans are marking the seventh anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il with visits to the statues and vows of loyalty to his son, Kim Jong Un. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP Photo)

Russian Emergency Situations employees help a girl to bath in the icy water on Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Russia, Friday, January 18, 2019. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Traditional dancers from southern state Tamil Nadu prepare themselves as they wait to perform during a press preview of displays being featured for the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 22, 2019. The Republic Day is an annual showcase of India's military hardware and cultural diversity. India celebrates its 70th Republic Day on January 26. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

Owners and their dogs take part in “HK Doggie Dash 2018”, an event held to raise money for for abandoned and surrendered dogs in Hong Kong on April 15, 2018. Dozens of pugs and dachshunds compensated for their modest speed with peppy spirits at Hong Kong’s inaugural “doggie dash” on April 15 that raised funds and awareness for the city’s abandoned and rescued dogs. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/AFP Photo)

Aerial photo taken on April 20, 2018 shows the view of advection fog above Qingdao, a coastal city in east China' s Shandong Province. (Photo by Lu Hui/Xinhua News Agency/Eyevine)

A motorcycle-taxi driver takes a nap while leaning on his bike along a street in Bangkok, Thailand on February 17, 2019. (Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP Photo)

A displaced Yemeni woman from Hodeida fills water containers at a make-shift camp in a village in the northern district of Abs in the country's Hajjah province, on May 9, 2019. The Yemeni conflict has triggered what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 3.3 million people still displaced and 24.1 million in need of aid. (Photo by Essa Ahmed/AFP Photo)