An activist lays on the floor of a skate park during a protest against environmental destructions in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 March 2021. Dozens of youths participated in a rally as part of the global climate strike movement demanding government to declare the climate emergency. (Photo by Mast Irham/EPA/EFE)

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)

A woman argues with police officer during a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Ulan-Ude, the regional capital of Buryatia, a region near the Russia-Mongolia border, Russia, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Navalny's team has called for nationwide protests on Wednesday following reports that the politician's health was deteriorating in prison, where he has been on hunger strike since March 31. Russian authorities have stressed that the demonstrations were not authorized and warned against participating in them. (Photo by Anna Ogorodnik/AP Photo)

An employee in protective gears sprays disinfectant at the main exhibition tank at the Sea World at Jaya Ancol Dream Park as it is closed for public in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Indonesia's capital city announced a lockdown of all tourist destinations and entertainment spots as well as the closing all of its public schools for the next 14 days amid the global outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP Photo)

Russian Orthodox priest, Father Nikolai Gensitsky, speaks with believers while having a festive meal during the Easter celebrations in a church in the village of Yekaterininskoye in Omsk Region, Russia on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)

An Indian priest covers his face with a mask as a precaution against coronavirus and prays at a temple, in Prayagraj, India, Monday, June 8, 2020. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)

People in ethnic costumes jump over a bonfire during Ivan Kupala Day celebrations held by the Pripyat River in the town of Turauin Gomel Region, Belarus on July 6, 2020. Ivan Kupala Day, also known as Ivana-Kupala or Kupala Night, is a traditional pagan holiday celebrated in eastern Slavic cultures. Various rituals are traditionally performed on Kupala Night, including making flower wreaths, fortune-telling, jumping over bonfires, and burning a wheel-like effigy symbolizing the sun. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)