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)

British South American Airways hostess Mary Guthrie with a pair of pineapples, on the return of the Lancastrian airliner 'Star Dust' to Heathrow Airport after a test-flight to Buenos Aires, 15th January 1946

British comedian and director Charles Chaplin (1889–1977) and actress Paulette Goddard (1911–1990), to whom he was married for seven years, star in the comedy “Modern Times”, directed by Chaplin himself. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1936

“Gangnam Style” star PSY's new music video had been watched more than 10 million times on YouTube less than 24 hours after he unveiled his much-anticipated new dance in Seoul, the website showed Sunday. Photo: PSY performs at his concert “Happening” in Seoul, on April 13, 2013. The South Korean pop star's first new single since his viral hit “Gangnam Style” is stealing attention from inter-Korean tensions. (Photo by Kin Cheung/Associated Press)

Japanese Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, also from Japan, who want to become K-pop stars, perform during their street performance in Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea, March 21, 2019. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

Emilia Pechinkova, a 24-years-old Bulgarian Pomak (Bulgarian speaking Muslims) bride poses for a photograph following the “gelina” or face painting ceremony carried out by female guests and relatives in preparation for her three-day wedding ceremony in the village of Draginovo, 100 kms southeast of Sofia on April 22, 2016. Bulgaria's Muslim population is one of the highest in the European Union. During the Communist regime religious rituals were not tolerated, and Muslims were forced to abandon wearing their traditional wedding outfits. Recently, more young Pomak women want to include traditional wedding customs that were forbidden during the regime, regardless of their secular lifestyles and the high cost of such a wedding. (Photo by Nikolay Doychinov/AFP Photo)

Israelis in costumes spray water on each other during the annual Tel Aviv Water War on Hbima Square in Tel Aviv, Israel,10 July 2015. The annual water fight is on his 11th edition. (Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA)

A World War II era P-51 Mustang fighter plane stands in front of a modern 747-8 freighter and a 757 passenger jet at The Boeing Company's centennial celebration in Renton, Washington, U.S. July 15, 2016. (Photo by Alwyn Scott/Reuters)