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)

Cemetery workers lift a corpse from a coffin to a metal plate as they prepare the body for cremation at a cemetery in Maracaibo, Venezuela, November 27, 2019. Some overcome the financial burden of a relative's death by renting caskets, a cheaper option than buying one. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A colourful morning sunrise on Christmas Eve at Victoria Tower on Castle Hill, West Yorkshire, England on December 24, 2017. The history of human activity on the Castle Hill goes back over 4000 years. The site was developed as an iron age hill fort, surrounded by defensive ditches and ramparts. In the Middle Ages there was a castle on the hill, of which the well remains. The present tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee of 1897. (Photo by Charlotte Graham/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Indian devotees carry their luggage and wade through the flooded water in Varanasi, India, Friday, August 26, 2016. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)

Omsin, a 25 year old femal green sea turtle, rests next to a tray of coins that were removed from her stomach after a surgical operation at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, March 6, 2017. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

In this November 12, 2015, file photo, Mt. Everest is seen from the way to Kalapatthar in Nepal. An American climber has died near the summit of Mount Everest and an Indian climber is missing after heading down from the mountain following a successful ascent, expedition organizers said Sunday. (Photo by Tashi Sherpa/AP Photo)

A resident jumps as he watches strong waves crash into shore as an effect of Typhoon Hagupit in Legazpi, Albay province, eastern Philippines on Sunday, December 7, 2014. Typhoon Hagupit knocked out power in entire coastal provinces, mowed down trees and sent more than 650,000 people into shelters before it weakened Sunday, sparing the central Philippines a repetition of unprecedented devastation by last year's storm. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

Kelsey Smith of New Zealand gets her stick caught on the shorts of Hollie Pearne-Webb of England during Women's Semi Final Hockey match between England and New Zealand on day eight of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast Hockey Centre on April 12, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)