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)

Ballerinas perform during an ice-cream factory promotional event at an observation floor of the Moscow International Business Centre, also known as “Moskva-City”, in Moscow, Russia October 25, 2018. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

A green iguana, or American iguana sits on an Aldabra giant tortoise, the largest tortoise of the world, in their enclosure at the zoo park of Lille, northern France, on February 11, 2019. (Photo by Philippe Huguen/AFP Photo)

A man wearing a costume dives into a partly frozen lake in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province on February 19, 2019. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

In this Tuesday, March 12, 2019 photo, a visitor takes part in an immersive experience showing visitors how dogs see from inside the head of a dog at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. A new exhibit at a Los Angeles museum examines the relationship between dogs and humans and explores why the two species seem to think so much alike and get along so well. “Dogs! A Science Tail” opens Saturday, March 16, 2019, at the California Science Center. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP Photo)

Cardi B performs at the “Night Two At Palms Casino Resort's KAOS Dayclub & Nightclub With Cardi B, G-Eazy, J Balvin For Grand Opening Weekend” event on April 6, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Palms Casino Resort)

A man with a cap on his face sleeps on a floor at the Mahabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan on March 4, 2019. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Celebrities Switch into their 2nd Outfits for the Met Gala After Parties on May 7, 2019. Pictured: Hailey Bieber. (Photo by DIGGZY/Splash News and Pictures)