In this photograph taken on June 11, 2018, Chinese artists performs during a Indo-China cultural exchange program in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

A unidentified woman protests at Broad Street for the pending arrival of Vice President Mike Pence at the Union League, in Philadelphia, Monday, July 23, 2018. Dozens of demonstrators dressed as characters from the novel-turned-TV series “The Handmaid's Tale” descended on downtown Philadelphia to protest Pence’s visit. (Photo by Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via 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)

Picture shows a mural painting in Ferrol, on September 2, 2018, during the annual street art festival “Meninas de Canido” set up in 2008 to breathe new life in a dying neighborhood. Angry at the announced death of his neighborhood, Canido, in Ferrol, Eduardo Hermida painted his version of Velazquez's “Meninas” on a wall. An act of protest that gave birth to a festival and gave new colors to this city of Galicia. (Photo by Miguel Riopa/AFP Photo)

English actress Diana Rigg as “Emma Peel” is tied to a railway track as a miniature train advances on her in a scene from the television series “The Avengers” in 1968. Rigg died at her home in London on 10 September 2020, at the age of 82. (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

An aerial view taken on September 11, 2020 shows the Buddhist temple Wat Samphran (Dragon Temple) in Nakhon Pathom, some 40km west of Bangkok. Wat Samphran is a popular tourist destination with visitors coming to see the huge dragon figure curling around a pink cylindrical building next to the Buddha statues and places of worship of the traditional Buddhist temple complex. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Bride Ana Vallejos, wearing a traditional “Caporales” Andean outfit, is escorted by her parents to her wedding celebration, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, December 12, 2020. As a measure to reactivate the economy, the Bolivian government lifted restrictions to help curve the spread of the new coronavirus. Sporting, religious and cultural events may take place publicly until mid-January. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)