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)

Long row of shiny new Flying Fortresses, part of huge reserves being built up in Britain for D-Day, stands by to be flown to combat units as replacements, May 25, 1944. (Photo by AP Photo)

Firefighters use a rope to rescue a group of people stranded in a flooded street on July 12, 2018 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. A strong storm has hit many parts of southwest China's Sichuan Province since Monday, causing landslides and floods in the region. (Photo by Wang Hongqiang/Chengdu Economic Daily/VCG)

A chicken gingerly crosses the double yellow line of a country road near Roseburg in western Oregon, USA on July 16, 2018. (Photo by Robin Loznak/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News)

Mary Earps, the English goalkeeper, with her wax lookalike at Madame Tussauds in London in the second decade of November 2024. (Photo by The Times)

A model wears a creation as part of the Dolce & Gabbana women's Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Saturday, September 23, 2023. (Photo by Antonio Calanni/AP Photo)

American rapper Coi Leray attends the 2024 People's Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on February 18, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A woman wearing a sweet girl cosplay mask strikes a pose during a flower watching or Hanami event, in the Japanese Garden of Bucharest, Romania, April 13, 2024. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)