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)

Participants of the “Still Standing for Culture” action of the cultural sector rally in Les Marolles neighborhood of Brussels, Belgium, 13 March 2021. Workers of the cultural sector along with second-hand dealers of the Jeu de Balle place gathered in Les Marolles to denounce the lack of financial support and call for solutions to the impact of the coronavirus crisis on culture professionals and the sector as a whole one year after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns started. (Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA/EFE)

A girl holds her hedgehog to be blessed by a priest at the Cathedral San Bernardino de Siena during the ceremony commemorating the Feast of San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of domestic animals, in Xochimilco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico on January 17, 2024. (Photo by Raquel Cunha/Reuters)

American actress Anya Taylor-Joy and Australian actor Chris Hemsworth are seen on May 08, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Hatem Khaled/Reuters)

A Jennie fan waits in the crowd for Jennie's perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, U.S., April 13, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Reuters)

Jasmine Paolini hits a forehand during her first-round US Open match on Sunday, August 24, 2025 at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Ray Giubilo)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he attends a flight training session by female fighter pilots Jo Kum Hyang and Rim Sol in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 22, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/KCNA/Antara Foto)