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)

Aide Choque, wearing a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, jumps with her skateboard during a youth talent show in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Young women called “Skates Imillas”, using the Aymara word for girl Imilla, use traditional Indigenous clothing as a statement of pride of their Indigenous culture while playing riding their skateboards. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

A young Muslim girl looks on as an elder helps her tie her hijab before the Eid al-Fitr prayer at Masjid Jamek Cina Muslim Klang on March 31, 2025, in Selangor, Malaysia. The mosque, inspired by the Great Mosque of Xi’an, blends Chinese and Islamic architectural influences, reflecting the nation’s rich cultural harmony. Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, is a time of prayers, family reunions, and celebration for Muslims worldwide. (Photo by Annice Lyn/Getty Images)

Reuters photographer Siegfried Modola gained access to a circumcision ceremony in rural Kenya for young girls of the Pokot tribe, in Baringo County. Here: a Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, October 16, 2014. (Photo by Siegfried Modola/Reuters)

Shamila, 15, from an internally displaced family, adjusts her wedding dress in an old mud house yard, on her wedding day, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, May 19, 2023. “I have no choice. If I don’t accept, my family will be hurt”, she says. Due to poverty and debt, her father had to marry her to a boy at a young age. Her father said that if I did not do this, I might have to give my daughter to someone that I owe. Now, with the money I received from the boy's family, I can pay my debt and treat my son. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this photograph taken on December 8, 2017, Indian child Samarth Bangari, 2, plays with langur monkeys at his home in Allapur in India' s southwest Karnataka state, 250 miles from Bangalore. He is still too young to talk, but a 2- year- old Indian boy has become a subject of local intrigue after befriending a gang of langur monkeys. (Photo by Manjunath Kiran/AFP Photo)

A girl looks at other children practicing on a boxing ring during an exercise session at a boxing school, in the Mare favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2, 2016. For many young residents the Luta Pela Paz (Fight For Peace) academy offers a glimpse of an alternative: a chance to build discipline and self-esteem through boxing and martial arts. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Kumari Samita Bajracharya sits in front of devotees offers during a special puja at Kumari Ghar in Patan, Nepal, 09 April 2011. It is believed that worshipping Kumari and receiving tika from her reduces illness and avoid problems. Kumari, or Kumari Devi, is a “living goddess”. The word literally means virgin in Nepali. The Living Goddesses are young pre-pubescent girls that are considered to be incarnations of the Hindu Goddess of Power, Kali. The Kumari retires when she reaches puberty. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)