A man dressed as a devil performs during a Krampus parade in Kaprun, Austria on December 5, 2017. Krampus is a mythical creature that, according to legend, accompanies Saint Nicholas during the festive season. Instead of giving gifts to good children, he punishes the bad ones. (Photo by APA-PictureDesk GmbH/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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)

Hotel ushers pose for a photo at Tiananmen Square as delegates attend the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, March 9, 2018. The CPPCC is the top advisory body of the Chinese political system and runs alongside the annual plenary meetings of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), together known as “Lianghui” or “Two Meetings”. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Spanish flamenco dancer Salome Ramirez performs in the show “Authentic Flamenco”, the show of the Teatro Real in Madrid, at the Sao Pedro theater in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 14 December 2022. After a successful tour in the United States and India, the show has arrived in the country of samba and carnivals, this time by the dancer Eduardo Guerrero and his work “Faro”. (Photo by Isaac Fontana/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An activist shouts amid clashes with Lebanese riot police during a protest to demand the opening of Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, outside of the Egyptian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 22 February 2024. (Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA/EFE)

A car passes through an area of the boardwalk hit by strong waves in Havana, Cuba, 05 February 2024. The Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) recorded strong gusts of wind of up to 104 kilometers per hour and strong waves in the west of the island due to a cold front associated with an “extratropical low”. (Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA)

Afghan girls ride a donkey along a street in Argo district at Badakhshan province on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Omer Abrar/AFP Photo)

Filipino informal settlers react during a demolition raid at a shanty town in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 01 August 2024. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)