An aerial view shows people touring between the large-scale ice sculptures at the 18th Harbin Ice and Snow World during its trial run opening to public in Harbin city, Heilongjiang province, China, 21 December 2016. Some 180,000 cubic meters of ice and 150,000 cubic meters of snow were used to build the 800,000-square-meter ice wonderland. The 33rd Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on 05 January 2017 that will last about three months. (Photo by Tian Weitao/EPA)

Kimono-clad women enjoy the view from Tokyo Sky Tree’s 350-meter-high observation deck in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on the Coming of Age Day, January 9, 2017. Sumida Ward invited about 430 local 20-year-old to the deck to celebrate them. Many city governments invite local 20-years-old to there’s symbolic places and celebrate for their Coming of Age Day. (Photo by The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images)

A family pose for a picture as thousands of redheads fill a Dutch city Breda to celebrate International Redhead Day event in Breda, The Netherlands on Sunday, 4 September 2016. Every year natural redheads from more than 80 countries come together at “Roodharigendag” annual weekend long festival to celebrate their ginger genes. The event also holds the world record for the largest number of natural redheads being in one place. (Photo by Akmen/London News Pictures)

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)

Picture shows a mural painting in Ferrol, on September 2, 2018, during the annual street art festival “Meninas de Canido” set up in 2008 to breathe new life in a dying neighborhood. Angry at the announced death of his neighborhood, Canido, in Ferrol, Eduardo Hermida painted his version of Velazquez's “Meninas” on a wall. An act of protest that gave birth to a festival and gave new colors to this city of Galicia. (Photo by Miguel Riopa/AFP Photo)

Runner-up. “The City of London, looking towards the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. The ever-changing London skyline provides many excellent opportunities for cityscape photography, none more exciting than the ebb and flow of traffic at night”. (Photo by Mark Caldon/The Guardian)

An Okinawan woman in a kimono checks her phone before attending a ceremony on Coming of Age Day on January 13, 2019 in Okinawa City, Japan. Coming of Age Day is a Japanese holiday held every January to celebrate people who have reached 20 – the official age of adulthood in Japan. Despite being a solemn affair in some parts of Japan, Okinawans have become known for their flamboyant and occasionally boisterous celebrations. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Lebanese people take pictures for damaged grain silos in Beirut port following a huge explosion rocked the city in Beirut, Lebanon, 23 August 2020. According to Lebanese Health Ministry at least 181 people were killed, and more than 6,000 injured in the Beirut blast that devastated the port area on 04 August and believed to have been caused by an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse. (Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA/EFE)