A Kurdish girl celebrates Newroz Day, a festival marking spring and the new year, in Akra, Iraq March 20, 2016. Nowruz is the name of the Iranian New Year also referred to as Persian New Year which is celebrated worldwide by Iranian peoples, along with some other ethno-linguistic groups. Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day, depending on where it is observed. Although having Persian and religious Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz has been celebrated by people from diverse ethno-linguistic communities for thousands of years. (Photo by Ari Jalal/Reuters)

People run away as a building is toppled during a controlled demolition as part of an urban transformation in Ankara, Turkey, February 3, 2014. (Photo by Serap Doganyigit/Reuters)

A pet owner holds his guinea pig named Riec as Father Francisco bestows a blessing on the pet rodent during a feast day Mass in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, at the Saint Fernando church, in Mexico City, Saturday, January 17, 2015. Many people in Mexico bring their pets to churches to be blessed by the priest on this day. (Photo by Marco Ugarte/AP Photo)

Blue, white and red brassieres, the colours of the French national flag, hang from a balcony in Marseille, France, November 27, 2015 as the French President called on all French citizens to hang the tricolour national flag from their windows on Friday to pay tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks during a national day of homage. (Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)

People with red hair from all over the world gather on “Roodharigendag” (Redhead Day) in Breda, The Netherlands, 07 September 2014. The Redhead Day is celebrated annually at the old Dutch city on the first weekend in September. It offers cultural events, music, a picnic, a fashion show and art exhibitions from and for the red haired community. (Photo by Arie Kievit/EPA)

Revellers attend the Saint Patrick's Day parade on March 17, 2019 in Dublin, Ireland. Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland is celebrated around the world on St. Patrick's Day. According to legend Saint Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans in the 5th-century after becoming a Christian missionary. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

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)

The towers of Russky Bridge are seen over the fog covered Vladivostok, Russia on May 26, 2020. The so-called “fog season” on the Pacific coast and in the south of Russia's Primorye Territory lasts from April till September. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)