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)

This photographer has a long love affair with lady liberty – and has captured it on film. The amazing pictures show the Statue of Liberty silhouetted against an array of beautiful backdrops. In some photographs she appears to be supporting the moon, in others celebrating with fireworks in the background. Here: The statue of liberty in New York City, New York. (Photo by Peter Alessandria/Caters News)

Wayne McMahon from “The Wolfhound Experience” walking alongside four Irish Wolfhounds: Connell, Mac, Brendan, and Barra, accompanied by an Irish Terrier Lady MacBeth, at St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, Ireland, on May 16, 2024. The Wolfhound Experience offers a one-hour walking tour in Dublin's St. Stephens' Green, where visitors can meet and learn about Irish Wolfhounds, the gentle giants of the canine world. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The Lady Boys of Bangkok have fun at the Meadows August 1, 2006 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Lady Gaga attends the 2011 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on June 6, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

British born leading lady Elizabeth Taylor feeds the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, London. (Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone/Getty Images). November 1948

A young lady blows a balloon during a federal conference of the German Pirate Party (Piratenpartei) on December 3, 2011 in Offenbach, Germany. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)

Arlo Dela Cruz and Maica Nicerio-Dela Cruz on their wedding day with the Mayon volcano erupting in the background, in Daraga, Albay, Philippines on January 25, 2018. They were married earlier in the afternoon at Our Lady of the Gate Parish. After their wedding they walked out to Red Labuyo restaurant and the volcano started its eruption. The Mayon volcano continued to erupt Thursday. The airport in Legazpi is closed until at least 31 January 2018. (Photo by ZUMA Press/Alamy Stock Photo)