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)

Volunteers skin western diamondback rattlesnakes during the 2021 Rattlesnake Roundup at the Nolan County Coliseum in Sweetwater, Texas on March 13, 2021. The town of Sweetwater holds the largest rattlesnake roundup in the world, launched in 1958 with the sole purpose of getting rid of rattlesnakes, killing an average of 5,000 pounds of snake each year. (Photo by Paul Ratje/AFP Photo)

Flight attendants of Zhejiang Loong Airlines undergo rigorous posture training on March 14, 2022 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. A total of 300 flight attendants received an etiquette training, including 13 courses for Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, which will be held from Sept. 10 to 25, 2022 in Hangzhou. (Photo by Wang Gang/China News Service via Getty Images)

“At her job, Maria Torero cares for sick human beings. At home, she lavishes love on slowly dying cats – 175 of them at last count. The 45-year-old nurse has turned her two-story, eight-room apartment into a hospice for cats with feline leukemia, scattering it with scores of feeding dishes and at least two dozen boxes litter boxes. Some have suggested she shelter healthy cats instead. “That's not my role”, she told The Associated Press. “I'm a nurse. My duty is to the cats that nobody cares about”. She said that “people don't adopt adult cats, especially if they are terminally ill”. – Franklin Briceno via Associated Press. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

People wearing masks and carrying supplies walk past a mannequin wearing a mask in downtown Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Spain's prime minister has announced a two-week state of emergency from Saturday in a bid to contain the new coronavirus outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

British rock singer, musician, one of the founders and member of the band Black Sabbath, which had a significant influence on the emergence of such musical styles as hard rock and heavy metal Ozzy Osbourne, pictured at home two weeks after the birth of his baby boy Jack. 25th November 1985. The heavy metal star, who fronted Black Sabbath before a long solo career, has died aged 76 in Birmingham, UK on July 22, 2025. (Photo by Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

A general view of atmosphere at the annual VOLT Festival in Sopron, 208 kms west of Budapest, Hungary on August 16, 2016. (Photo by Rockstar Photographers)

A slogan and crosses are painted on the helmet of a Ukrainian serviceman in Ruska Lozova, a village retaken by the Ukrainian forces, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine on May 16, 2022. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)