Mariam Ashraf, a teacher and “natural hair influencer”, speaks before a phone on a tripod and lights during a live-stream at her home in Egypt's capital Cairo on March 22, 2022. “Shaggy”, “messy”, “unprofessional”. Natural curls were once looked down upon in Egypt, where Western beauty standards favoured sleek, straight locks. Now, things are changing. (Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP Photo)

Belgium's Crown Princess Elisabeth, center, marches past the Royal tribune with cadets of the military school during the National Day parade in Brussels, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Belgium celebrates its National Day on Wednesday in a scaled down version due to coronavirus, COVID-19 measures. (Photo by Olivier Matthys/AP Photo)

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)

Children jump into the water despite strong waves after a strong downpour at Manila's bay, Philippines, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. Schools in metropolitan Manila have been suspended as Tropical Storm Danas, locally named Falcon, continue to enhance the southwest monsoon as it maintains its strength bringing heavy rains over parts of Luzon and Visayas according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

Italian Air Force's aerobatic demonstration team, the Frecce Tricolori leave colourful vapour trails as they fly over the Altare della Patria monument on Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica) in Rome, Italy, 02 Jun 2017. The anniversary marks the founding of the Italian Republic in 1946. (Photo by Massimo Percossi/EPA)

In this Friday, May 10, 2019, file photo, rescuers help a baby wild elephant cross the wetland to return to the forest at Deepor Beel wildlife sanctuary in Gauhati, India. The elephant had gotten stuck in the waters of Deepor Beel after it was separated from a herd of wild elephant that came down in search of food last night. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

A dune buggy driver trains before competing in a sand dune drag racing event on January 8, 2016, as part of the Liwa 2016 Moreeb Dune Festival in the Liwa desert, some 250 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a variety of races (cars, bikes, falcons, camels and horses) or other activities aimed at promoting the country's folklore. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP Photo)

A Kashmiri woman walks on a footbridge as it rains in Srinagar, June 24, 2015. This year's monsoon rains in India are officially forecast to be only 88 percent of the long-term average. (Photo by Danish Ismail/Reuters)