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)

Horses are seen before they are evacuated from a ranch as a wildfire is burning along a hillside in Azusa, Calif., Monday, June 20, 2016. New wildfires erupted Monday near Los Angeles and chased people from their suburban homes as an intense heatwave stretching from the West Coast to New Mexico blistered the region. (Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo)

Two girls are detained outside the Currys electrical store in Brixton on August 8, 2011 in London, England. Widespread rioting and looting took place across many parts of London in the early hours of Monday morning in a reaction to earlier rioting in Tottenham in North London. Major disturbances broke out late on Saturday night in Tottenham and the surrounding area after the killing of Mark Duggan, 29 and a father-of-four, by armed police in an attempted arrest on August 4. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Miss Universe candidate Rebecca Kathleen Rath from Belize walks on stage in her national costume during the Miss Universe preliminary show at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, south of Manila, Philippines 26 January 2017. (Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA)

A youth in costume hurries past a mural after dancing at the Sun Festival in Cotacachi, Ecuador, Sunday, June 24, 2018. Across the Andes, from the tip of Argentina as far north as Colombia, indigenous communities are gathering for the southern hemisphere's winter solstice to honor the ancient sun god. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

Steve McCurry has been a photojournalist for over 30 years. He is the recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal, the National Press Photographers Award and four first prize awards in the World Press Photo contest. Photo: Afghanistan. (Photo by Steve McCurry)

Jakelyne Oliveira, Miss Brazil 2013 performs onstage during the Miss Universe 2013 preliminary competition in Moscow, Russia, 05 November 2013. The final of the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant will take place at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on 09 November. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA)

Miss Lithuania, Patricija Belousova, poses for the judges, during the national costume show during the 63rd annual Miss Universe Competition in Miami, Fla., Wednesday, January 21, 2015. (Photo by J. Pat Carter/AP Photo)