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)

(L-R) Young Paris, Lionel Richie, Isabela Moner and Austin Butler attend the Jeremy Scott Fashion Show during New York Fashion Week at Spring Studios on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)

Team GB synchronised swimmers Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe took on an underwater fashion shoot in June 2021 before they represent Britain in the artistic swimming competition at the Tokyo Olympics next month. (Photo by Bluebella/Cavendish Press)

Colombian-Spanish actress Juana Acosta attends the Fotogramas Awards 2012 at Joy Eslava Club on March 12, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

A man transports the carcass of a car on a two- wheeled carriage in a neighborhood in Abobo, a suburb of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on December 1, 2017. (Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP Photo)

People stand in front of an murals at Lodhi Art District in New Delhi on March 24, 2019. Visitors throng Lodhi colony which has murals by dozens of Indian and international artists. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

A traffic light is seen next to the Pink Supermoon in Frankfurt, Germany, April 8, 2020. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

(L-R) Jesse Montana , Kyle Chan, James Kennedy and Anthony F. attend Kyle Chan's “Star Wars vs. s*xy Aliens” Birthday Party at Sofitel Hotel on February 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)