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)

Masked guests attend the “Grand Bal Christian Dior” during the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Monday, January 22, 2018. (Photo by Kamil Zihnioglu/AP Photo)

Bangladeshi fisherman feed their otters as they catch fish in Narail some 208 kms from Dhaka on March 11, 2014. The fishermen are using a rare technique that relies on coordination between man and trained otters, a centuries-old fishing partnership that has already long died out in other parts of Asia. (Photo by Munir Uz Zaman/AFP Photo)

Find out what 2014 has in store for you and your cash. Provided by Russell Grant Horoscopes. (Photo by Toma Petrovic)

A paramedic enters an ambulance vehicle as she responds to a call received by Ambulance Station No 3 of Rostov-on-Don's Emergency Care Hospital on New Year's Day in Rostov-On-Don, Russia on January 1, 2022. (Photo by Erik Romanenko/TASS)

A Palestinian youth sets a beach umbrella on the shore off of Gaza City, on January 12, 2022. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo)

Liberians stage a rally for justice in front of the Liberia National Police headquarters in Monrovia, Liberia, 12 April 2022. There has been reported rise in mysterious deaths, and mob justice incidents in the country, according to reports. United Voices Against Injustice, an advocacy group, stage a rally to seek proper justice for all the many mysterious deaths, most especially, those alarming ones of recent in Liberia. (Photo by Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA/EFE)

Ariel Almiron and Alumine Deluchi compete in the final round of the Tango World Championship stage category, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, September 25, 2021. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)