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 cuddle party or cuddle puddle is an event designed with the intention of allowing people to experience non-sexual group physical intimacy through cuddling. Cuddle parties are described by organizers as “workshop/social-events” that gives adults an opportunity to “give and receive welcomed affectionate touch in a no-expectation, friendly setting, according to your needs, desires, interests, and boundaries”. Cuddle parties are described as non-sexual events but kissing may occur at some parties”. – Wikipedia

Photo: People cuddle during an a “Cuddle Party” October 16, 2004 in New York City. Started by Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski, cuddle parties are events for adults to get together and explore affectionate touch and communication without it becoming sexualized. At the parties, strangers spend time introducing themselves and setting boundaries before lying down to cuddle. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NASA says it could be another 20 years before humans touch down on Mars, but in a sense, the Mars Society has been exploring the red planet for more than a decade – in Utah. Photo: Csilla Orgel, a geologist of Crew 125 EuroMoonMars B mission, makes her way back to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the Utah desert March 3, 2013. The MDRS aims to investigate the feasibility of a human exploration of Mars and uses the Utah desert's Mars-like terrain to simulate working conditions on the red planet. Scientists, students and enthusiasts work together developing field tactics and studying the terrain. All outdoor exploration is done wearing simulated spacesuits and carrying air supply packs and crews live together in a small communication base with limited amounts of electricity, food, oxygen and water. Everything needed to survive must be produced, fixed and replaced on site. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

People don’t realize how much our exterior can affect our mood. If we make ourselves smile, we might feel a little better, yet if we frown, we soon get the irresistible urge to listen to Blues and weep over the days long gone. The same goes for our clothing. Many people, especially the elderly, tend to dress in the same old rags, without ever feeling the need to change something about their appearance. However, as Cue Qozop clearly demonstrates in his Spring – Autumn photoset, clothes can completely alter the appearance and the mood of the wearer. Elderly people dressed in young people’s clothes look much younger and happier. They look as if they are full of vigor and are about to set out on an amazing adventure.

Kagome Co's employee Shigenori Suzuki tries to eat a tomato which is fed to him by the newly-developed “Wearable Tomato” device for runners, during its unveiling event ahead of the weekend's Tokyo Marathon in Tokyo February 19, 2015. The eight-kilo (17.6-pound) contraption fits on a runner like a rucksack. It can distribute a total of seven medium-sized tomatoes, one by one, at the click of a button and supplies the runner with much needed nutrients during a long jog or race. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

Some companies in Taiwan spend months building temples with bricks and cement, but Lin Fu-Chun's firm simply pours concrete into a giant mould and waits for it to dry. The 78-year-old Lin said his temple factory, Chuanso, needed just over six weeks to finish a building that normally took six months with conventional methods – and moulding was 40 percent cheaper. Here: An employee paints a ready-made Chinese traditional temple at the Chuanso factory that manufactures religious objects in Pingtung, Taiwan July 5, 2016. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Tens of thousands of vehicles damaged by super storm Sandy are being temporarily stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in Calverton, New York, on January 9, 2013 in this aerial view. Insurance Auto Auctions Inc, a salvage auto auction company specializing in total-loss vehicles, acquired the cars and trucks that were damaged, destroyed or flooded by the storm and needed a place to store them. The company made a deal with the Town of Riverhead to lease the airport land and then the vehicles are auctioned online. (Photo by Stan Honda/AFP Photo)

Just a week before Rio de Janeiro hosts South America's first Olympics, city residents expressed mixed feelings about the cost and security of the Games, while holding out hope they will bring joy to a nation facing economic and political crises. The conflicted thoughts mirror a recent survey by the Datafolha polling group showing that half of Brazilians were opposed to holding the Games, while 63 percent think the costs of hosting the event will outweigh benefits. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)