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)

In this June 29, 2016 file photo, boats docked at Central Marine in Stuart, Fla., are surrounded by blue green algae. The 153-mile-long Indian River Lagoon has been plagued by harmful algae blooms. Water quality testing data analyzed by the AP showed the average phosphorous level – a byproduct of fertilizers and human waste that algae thrive on, rose nearly 75 percent between 2000 and 2016. (Photo by Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP Photo)

In this Saturday, June 14, 2014 file photo, two women kiss in front of a rainbow flag, the symbol of the gay rights movement, during the Gay Pride parade in central Athens, Greece. Ahead of May 21, general elections, Alexis Tsipras, head of the main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, promised on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 to legalize same-s*x marriage if he becomes the next prime minister. (Photo by Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo)

The materialisation of this house is a dream come true for the owner. This house was built in Germany, in the town called Zell and what is the most astonishing about it is the stone used in the whole design. It was built by Walter Andre and it looks as if it just got out from a fairytale, and everything from its fantastic roof to it’s sandstone windows points in that direction.

“Filthy Luker is a painter who is really attacking his audience. Who could think that a green octopus suddenly starts to creep out from the windows, a huge banana rind lounges just in the center of a road and the trees start to see!” (Photo by Filthy Luker/Vedi tutte le foto via Giornalettismo.com)

A North Korean soldier looks through a window at Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) and her partner Tim Mathieson (C) while they visit the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) meeting room at the border village of Panmunjom, between South and North Korea, on April 24, 2011 South Korea. Gillard will visit Japan, the Republic of Korea and China during a bilateral tour of North Asia from April 20-27. (Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun-pool/Getty Images)

In this April 13, 2015 file photo, a Thai woman splashes water on people from the back of a truck during the Songkran water festival to celebrate Thai New Year in Bangkok, Thailand.Thailand's military government is putting a dampener on the annual nationwide water fight. Despite Thailand's worst drought in 20 years, the junta says it has no intention of limiting the virtually around-the-clock water throwing that defines the three-day Songkran festival. Instead, it has decided to impose morality measures. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

File photo taken on July 24, 2011 shows the scenery of karst landform in Dacai Township under Maonan Autonomous County of Huaijiang, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The World Heritage Committee on Monday inscribed an extension of South China Karst, a natural World Heritage Site since 2007, into the UNESCO's World Heritage List. (Photo by Wang Xiufa/Xinhua)