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)

On the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, a girl costumed as Lord Krishna poses for a photo in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 19, 2022. (Photo by Nayem Shaan/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

US President Joe Biden departs the White House for California, where he will review damage from recent flooding, in Washington, DC, USA, 19 January 2023. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/EFE)

Scooby performs at halftime of the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Texas Tech Red Raiders at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on January 30, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)

A man is silhouetted as he stands on a walkway in the sky lobby at the Chancellery, the seat of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) in Berlin, May 7, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Participants take part in a high-heel race at a Gay Pride party in the central neighborhood of Chueca in Madrid on July 3, 2014. (Photo by Gerard Julien/AFP Photo)

A sеx worker participates in a march to raise public awareness on human rights issues in their profession on International Day to End Violence Against Sеx Workers in Skopje, Macedonia December 17, 2016. (Photo by Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)

Blossoms and dust are blown by the wind as Jasmin Ricks, left, and her sister, Jessica Ricks, center, take in the cherry blossoms near the Tidal Basin in Washington on April 12, 2018. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)