Russian Communist party activists and supporters carry portraits of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin (R) and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin (L) as they attend a flowers-laying ceremony at the Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square in downtown Moscow on November 7, 2021, marking the 104th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution also known as the October Revolution. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

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)

Giant pumpkins sit in the bed of a truck before the 40th Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on October 14, 2013 in Half Moon Bay, California. Gary Miller of Napa, California won the 40th Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Offgigantic pumpkin with a gigantic pumpkin that weighed in at 1,985 pounds. Miller took home a cash prize of $11,910, or $6.00 a pound. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/AFP Photo)

Fighters of the Free Syrian Army fire an anti-aircraft weapon in the rebel-held Mashhad area in southeastern Aleppo, on December 12, 2016, as they battle Syrian government forces during an operation to retake the embattled city. The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its “final phase” after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

In this picture taken on Thursday, December 1, 2016, an Iranian woman covers herself with a blanket due to the cold, while visiting Khour salt lake during her tour of the Mesr desert about 305 miles (500 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran. Deserts make up parts of Iran which have recently become tourist destination for young Iranians looking for a break on their weekend. The increase in tourists to the desert has stimulated economic growth in the area. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Members of the Legio X Fretensis (Malta) re-enactment group take part in a display of ancient Roman army life at Fort Rinella in Kalkara, outside Valletta, March 22, 2015. The event “Romanus”, organised by the Malta Heritage Trust, consisted of talks, hands-on displays, static exhibitions of weapons and equipment, food and wine tasting and large-scale re-enactments depicting different forms of Roman warfare in the field. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)

Heather Larsen from Golden, Colorado, USA performs a split while walking the slackfline or highline across two towers in the Tower of David citadel complex overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem 02 May 2016. Larsen is one of the world's top female highliners, or slack liners and walked the lines as part of a Kickstarter campaign for an outdoor product. The tower at left was built by King King Herod some 2000 years ago. (Photo by Jim Hollander/EPA)

A general view shows sculptures made of waste material titled “Trash People” by German Artist HA Schult (unseen), on April 2, 2014 in Ariel Sharon Park, in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. Hundreds of human-size figures constructed from 20 tons of recycled material, including iron, glass, computer parts, cans and more, will dominate the sky line of Tel-Aviv city and be placed in the park. (Photo by Jack Guez/AFP Photo)