Morenada dancers dance at the Plaza de Armas during the celebrations of the Morenada National Day in La Paz, Bolivia on September 7, 2021. (Photo by Manuel Claure/Reuters)

St. Mark's and Panagia Erithiani church congregations perform “Rocket War” by firing thousands of home-made rockets across the sky during Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations in the town of Vrontados on the Greek island of Chios on April 19, 2014. Greek habit of throwing handmade rockets with the aim of hitting the bell tower of the church at the other side during the celebration of the service at midnight before Easter Sunday. (Photo by Cem Oksuz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

“Twisted Metal” Season 2 stars Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz celebrate the new season at Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center in New York on July 22, 2025. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Friends (L-R) Katherine Olson, Olivia Carroll and Maron Ross take a memory during the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 20, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

A child poses for a photo inside a life-sized doll box after watching the “Barbie” film at the SM North Edsa in Quezon City on July 19, 2023. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

Youths kick a gay rights activist during a protest against a proposed new law termed by the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, as “against advocating the rejection of traditional family values” in central Moscow June 11, 2013. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A municipality worker in a protective suit feeds street cats at Sultanahmet Square, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Istanbul, Turkey, April 9, 2020. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

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)