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 dog at the Zoozashchita-NN veterinary clinic in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on February 19, 2021. On February 13, 13 stray dogs with bright blue fur were found and caught at the Dzerzhinskoye Steklo (Dzerzhinsk Glass) factory producing acrylic glass and prussic acid in the city of Dzerzhinsk. The dogs' fur tested positive for the Prussian blue pigment; now the dogs are under supervision at the Zoozashchita-NN vet clinic in Nizhny Novgorod. (Photo by Mikhail Solunin/TASS)

Members of the Paraguay-African cultural group Kamba Cua dance during celebrations in honor of Saint Balthazar, one of the Three Kings, on Epiphany in Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay, late Saturday, January 8, 2022, just days after the official holiday. The annual procession is a tradition that keeps Paraguay's Afro-descendants connected with their African roots through ancestral dance, drumming and customs. (Photo by Jorge Saenz/AP Photo)

A horse is paraded during the Arabian Horse Festival at the Bait al-Arab in Kuwait City on February 5, 2022. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP Photo)

Girls in Han costumes pose for a photo with blooming cherry blossoms at Yuyuantan Park during Qingming Festival holiday on April 4, 2022 in Beijing, China. Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, falls on April 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Naiming/VCG via Getty Images)

Member of Twycross Zoo, Lily-Jean Morales, seven, visits The Gruffalo Discovery Land, a brand-new four-acre experience at Twycross Zoo, in Leicestershire on April 7, 2022, before it opens to the public on Saturday. (Photo by PA Wire Press Association)

The World Enduro Super Series roared back into life this weekend with Mario Roman coming out on top at the Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares on May 12 to stake an early claim for the title of Ultimate Enduro Champion 2019. The Spaniard beat the 300 competitors, including 50 pros, who entered Sunday's Hard Enduro feature race in the baking Portuguese heat. Here: Graham Jarvis and Billy Bolt race at Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares, Portugal on May 12, 2019. (Photo by Future7Media/Red Bull Content Pool via AP Images)