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)

Revelers participate in J'Ouvert, an overnight celebration the night before the West Indies Day Parade in Brooklyn, NY on September 3, 2018. Violence in past years led NYPD to shut down the parade route until 2am. (Photo by Stephen Yang)

People dressed as mermaids and mermen take part in the group swim during the MerMagic Convention at the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center in Manassas, Virginia on March 4, 2023. The event bills itself as the “World's Largest Mermaid Convention”. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

Spanish MotoGP rider Joan Mir (R) of Team Suzuki Ecstar and other MotoGP racers ride mini electric motorcycles at a fan event at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan, 17 October 2019. The event was held ahead of the MotoGP race of Japan's Motorcycling Grand Prix scheduled for 20 October 2019. (Photo by Toru Hanai/EPA/EFE)

People fall down as they try to form a human pyramid to break the “Dahi handi”, an earthen pot filled with curd, an integral part of celebrations to mark Janmashtami in Mumbai, India, Monday, August 18, 2014. Hindu devotees take part in the celebration in which an earthen pot is suspended high above the ground and groups of young men and children form a human pyramid to reach the pot and break it. The festival celebrates the birth of Hindu god Lord Krishna, one of the most popular gods in Hinduism. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

Children at Somerleyton School in Suffolk, UK on February 27, 2025 tuck into an iced bun, given by the Lord and Lady Somerleyton along with a £1 coin, as part of a long-standing tradition dating back to 1877". (Photo by Jason Bye for the Times)

Members of the China Disabled Peoples Performing Art Troupe perform “My Dream” at Jorge Eliecer Gaitan Theater in Bogota on August 30, 2017. China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe Company composed of artists with some hearing, mental, motor, visual or speech disabilities, was founded in 1987 and is currently Honorary and Goodwill Ambassadors of Unesco for its great example of inclusion. (Photo by John Vizcaino/AFP Photo)

A salsa dancer performs in the “Salsodromo” parade, which marks the start of the Fair of Cali, Colombia, December 25, 2015. Picture taken December 25, 2015. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters)