A young girl sits on a mat, as worshippers arrive to pray to mark the Muslim Eid-al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifices) without observationg precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, in Kara, Ogun State in southwest Nigeria, on July 31, 2020. Nigerian Muslim faithfuls joined their counterparts across the world to celebrate Eid-El-Adha, Islamic festival of sacrifice. (Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP Photo)

A young woman shows off her henna tattoos at the end of Eid al-Fitr prayers in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Members of the Romanian Muslim community joined prayers at the Dinamo stadium in the Romanian capital, in the largest Muslim public gathering of the year. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

Ukrainians jump over a bonfire in Kiev, Ukraine, 06 July 2019, as they celebrate the traditional pagan holiday of Ivana Kupala. Ivana Kupala is celebrated, during the summer solstice, on the shortest night of the year, marking the beginning of summer and is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Russia. People sing and dance around bonfires, play games and perform traditional rituals. Young people jump over bonfires in order to test their bravery. Couples holding hands jump over the flames to test their love. If the couple does not succeed it is predicted to split up. Traditionally, children and young unmarried women wear wreaths of wild flowers on their heads to symbolize purity. (Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA/EFE)

Nepalese women and young girls struggle to drink homemade alcohol poured through a pipe sticking out of the mouth of Swet Bhairab, a god of Power, during the Indra Jatra festival at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, 17 September 2016. Hundreds of women and young girls gathered to drink alcohol as a blessing from idol of Swet Bhairab which they believes will keep them free from all diseases. The Indra Jatra festival is celebrated to honor Indra, the king of gods and god of rains. The festival also marks the end of the monsoon. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

A woman pours alcohol from the bottle into her mouth at the Far Hills Race Day at Moorland Farms in Far Hills, New Jersey, October 17, 2015. Young locals in New Jersey catch up with friends from school and college days at the Far Hills Race Day, which started as a fox-hunting event in the early 1900s. Many racegoers first went to the Hunt, as it's known locally, as children, but nowadays it's an alcohol-fuelled party for them. Makeshift bars are set up in cars, with the horses' efforts on the turf sometimes a backdrop to the main event. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Reuters)

People fall down as they try to form a human pyramid to break the “Dahi handi”, an earthen pot filled with curd, an integral part of celebrations to mark Janmashtami in Mumbai, India, Monday, August 18, 2014. Hindu devotees take part in the celebration in which an earthen pot is suspended high above the ground and groups of young men and children form a human pyramid to reach the pot and break it. The festival celebrates the birth of Hindu god Lord Krishna, one of the most popular gods in Hinduism. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

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)

The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. Photo: A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)