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 plays on the glass at Thailand's first skywalk in Bangkok, Thailand on November 18, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Christmas party goers seen on December 14, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Revellers hit the bars as they partied hard on the second-to-last Friday before Christmas. (Photo by Mercury Press)

Santa Claus reacts as (L) Tami McEleney and (R) Patrice Conner whisper in his ear at the King of Prussia Mall, United States' largest retail shopping space, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., December 8, 2018. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)

Sydney McLaughlin of Team United States celebrates with Legend the mascot after winning gold and setting a new world record in the Women's 400m Hurdles Final on day eight of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 22, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images for World Athletics)

A woman wearing a traditional Hanbok dress visits the Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds in Seoul on October 23, 2023. A woldae terrace for public rituals and ceremonies in front of Gyeongbok Palace’s Gwanghwamun gate was restored and opened to the public earlier this month, after being removed in 1923, during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

Members of a “Diablada” folk group dance during celebrations of the anniversary of Bolivia foundation, in Santiago, Chile on August 6, 2022. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

Agustina, 41, a trans woman poses before a Trans Super Heroes fashion show at a traditional market in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 17, 2023. (Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)