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)

Young girls take ballet lessons at the New Dreams dance studio in the Luz neighborhood known to locals as Cracolandia (Crackland) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 14, 2015. For the young girls learning to jump and plie, the dance studio provides a way forward and out of the difficult environment they have grown up in. Brazil is one of the world's highest consuming countries of crack cocaine, and Cracolandia, or “Crack Land”, located in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, is one of the most intense and brutal hubs. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Palestinian girl Manar Al-Shinbari (R), 15, who lost her both legs by what medics said was Israeli shelling at a UN-run school where she was taking refuge during the 50-day war last summer, is helped by her sister to put on her headscarf in an apartment in Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip January 13, 2015. Manar's mother and three of her brothers were killed in the same incident. The girl's family house was destroyed by Israeli shelling during the war. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Young Slovaks dressed in traditional costumes throw a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, Slovakia, April 9, 2012. Slovakia's men splash women with water to symbolize youth, strength and beauty for the upcoming spring season. (Photo by Samuel Kubani/AFP)

A girl holds up a photo of Pope Benedict XVI which reads “tear his face” during a protest against the World Youth Day 2011 celebrations taking place on August 17, 2011 in Madrid, Spain. Initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, World Youth Day youth-oriented events for the celebration of the Catholic faith are held every three years in a different country; this time in Madrid from August 16 – 21, with Pope Benedict XVI in attendance. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

A girl gets her arm sketched with a body paint tattoo depicting the traditional Dandiya dance, ahead of Navratri, a festival when devotees worship the Hindu goddess Durga, in Ahmedabad, India, September 25, 2016. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A girl wearing a Santa hat surfs at Bondi Beach on December 25, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. December is one of the hottest months of the year across Australia, with Christmas Day traditionally involving a trip to the beach and celebrations outdoors. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Girls in Han costumes pose for a photo with blooming cherry blossoms at Yuyuantan Park during Qingming Festival holiday on April 4, 2022 in Beijing, China. Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, falls on April 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Naiming/VCG via Getty Images)