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)

Dancers from the McLoughlin school in Glasgow, Scotland put on make-up as they get ready to participate in the 2022 World Irish Dancing Championships on its 50th anniversary, in Belfast, Northern Ireland on April 14, 2022. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A woman dressed as the Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy walks her dog dressed as the Cowardly Lion as they attend the annual Congressional Dog Costume Parade on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP Photo)

A guest wearing a fur hat looks on before a fashion show by Chinese brand CHNNYU during BRICS+ Fashion Summit in Moscow, Russia on November 29, 2023. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Russian police cadets march during general rehearsal of the Victory Day parade on the Dvortsovaya Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, 07 May 2021. The military parade marking the 76th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the World War II will take place on the Dvortsovaya Square on 09 May 2021. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA/EFE)

Fan Bing Bing, Concha de Plata (Silver Shell) award winnerfor best actress for the feature film “I Am Not Madame Bovary” speaks on her telephone during the awards ceremony at the San Sebastian Film Festival, September 24, 2016, in San Sebastian, northern Spain. (Photo by Vincent West/Reuters)

An unidentified elderly woman, who was knocked over during the melee after a shot was fired in the direction of President Ford, is comforted by a passerby in San Francisco, September 23, 1975. (Photo by AP Photo)

A person waving the rainbow flag runs on the pitch as the players line up for the national anthems the UEFA EURO 2020 Group F football match between Germany and Hungary at the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Pool via AFP Photo)