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)

Picture shows a mural painting in Ferrol, on September 2, 2018, during the annual street art festival “Meninas de Canido” set up in 2008 to breathe new life in a dying neighborhood. Angry at the announced death of his neighborhood, Canido, in Ferrol, Eduardo Hermida painted his version of Velazquez's “Meninas” on a wall. An act of protest that gave birth to a festival and gave new colors to this city of Galicia. (Photo by Miguel Riopa/AFP Photo)

In this photograph taken on June 11, 2018, Chinese artists performs during a Indo-China cultural exchange program in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

David Lazar is a travel photographer and musician from Brisbane, Australia, who loves to capture moments of life, beauty and culture through photography. He is drawn to locations which have a rich cultural background and he is especially interested in portrait and landscape photography.

Cemetery overcrowding is an issue that resonates around the world, particularly in its most cramped cities and among religions that forbid or discourage cremation. The reality of relying on finite land resources to cope with the endless stream of the dying has brought about creative solutions... (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A youth dives into a crater filled with water in Aleppo's al-Shaar district, in this July 10, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Hosam Katan/Reuters)

Miss World 2011 participants Miss USA, Miss Canada, Miss Mexico, Miss Guatamala, Miss Costa Rica, Miss Dominican Republic pose beside the Thames during a photocall as part of the Miss World 2011 UK Tour, on October 31, 2011 in London, United Kingdom. The tour celebrates Miss World's 60th birthday. The final of the competition will take place in Earls Court, London on Sunday 6th of November. (Photo by Ian Jones /Miss World Ltd via Getty Images)

Labourers work at the installation site of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) pipeline on May Day or Labour Day in Chandigarh, India, May 1, 2015. (Photo by Ajay Verma/Reuters)