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)

A member of the Army Service Corps “Tornadoes” of the Indian Army participates in a full dress rehearsal to celebrate India's Republic Day on January 24, 2024 in Bengaluru, India. India celebrates its Republic Day on January 26. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

A view of snow blanketed ancient giant statues and remains, dating back to 2.000-year-old Commagene Kingdom, located in the 2.150-meter-altitude Mount Nemrut, which is listed in the UNESCO's World Heritage List, in Kahta district of Adiyaman, Turkiye on February 02, 2024. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

National Guardsmen are put through riot training in Boston's Commonwealth Armory on Friday, October 18, 1974. Massachusetts Gov. Francis W. Sargent called up the guard to quell school violence, but the city has been relatively calm and the guard has remained in the armories. (Photo by JWG/AP Photo)

Inter Miami's Julian Gressel reacts after missing a chance to score against Monterrey during a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter final second leg soccer match at the BBVA stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

A child puts his swimming goggles on before jumping in a public pool of spring water in Japakeh, Indonesia's Aceh province on March 22, 2024, during the World Water Day. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

A Palestinian boy, who was displaced by Israel's military offensive with his family on south Gaza, holds a cat as he attempts to return to his home in north Gaza through an Israeli checkpoint, in the central Gaza Strip, on April 15, 2024. (Photo by Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

A woman representing the Nuestros Pilares feminist group, plays a violin during a demonstration against gender-based violence marking International Women's Day, in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)