Police officers speak to a woman in Greenwich Park in London, England on April 4, 2020. The Government has announced a lockdown to slow the spread of Coronavirus and reduce pressure on the NHS. (Photo by Alamy Live News)

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)

An EF-2 tornado begins to rope out on the outskirts of Mangum, Oklahoma, U.S. on May 20, 2019. Multiple tornadoes touched down and heavy rain flooded areas across Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Conner/ZUMA Wire)

A motor taxi driver gets his hands washed at an Ebola screening station on the road between Butembo and Goma on July 16, 2019 in Goma. The first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma has died, the governor of North Kivu province said on July 16, 2019. The case – the first in a major urban hub in the region's nearly year-old epidemic of the disease – has sparked deep concern in neighbouring Rwanda and at the UN. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

An “asparagus eating contest” made of asparagus and carved pumpkins is on display on the sidelines of the Giant Vegetable Competition in Klaistow, northeastern Germany, on September 20, 2015. The vegetable giants compete in seven categories. (Photo by Bernd Settnik/AFP Photo)

Maya Goldstein, 7 marches in the Capital Pride Parade in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2023. (Photo by Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)

Dinosaur mockups are installed in Danghangpo, Goseong, some 466km southeast of Seoul, South Korea, 06 September 2021, 25 days ahead of the Gyeongnam Goseong Dinosaur World Expo 2021 set for 01 October until 07 November. Goseong is one of the world's three largest fossilized dinosaur footprint sites, along with Colorado in the United States and the west coast of Argentina. (Photo by Yonhap/EPA/EFE)

Postal worker Eddie Smith, dressed as Santa Claus, waves to a neighbor on his mail route in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2021. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)