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)

Yoga Studio for ultra-Orthodox located at Ramat Beit Shemesh Nachal zohar 4/8, Israel. Separate classes for men, women and children. Occupations look quite funny... (Photo by Michal Fattal)

Two children jumping through a water hydrant's shower on a New York street. They have come from a neighbouring co-educational playgroup organised by the city's Police Department. (Photo by Orlando/Getty Images). 1950

Members of Japanese idol group Kamen Joshi (Masked Girls) in attires featuring images or names of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, pose for a photo after their concert at their theatre in Tokyo's Akihabara district, Japan, December 12, 2016. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

A girl walks to a synagogue of the Tzanz Hasidic dynasty community to read the Book of Esther, which tells the story of the Jewish festival of Purim, in Netanya, Israel, Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. (Photo by Ariel Schalit/AP Photo)

A man carries an injured girl after what activists said were five air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma, eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus September 11, 2014. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

In this Monday, June 20, 2016 photo, a Palestinian girl plays in a barrel as her mother bakes bread for a Ramadan dinner at their house in el-Zohor slum, on the outskirts of Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Khalil Hamra/AP Photo)