A Russian police officer detains a teenager during rally protesting retirement age hikes in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, September 9, 2018. A government plan to increase the age for collecting state pensions brought protests across Russia's 11 time zones on Sunday even though the opposition leader who called them was in jail. Nearly 300 people were reported arrested. (Photo by Roman Pimenov/Interpress photo via AP 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)

Boxers Deontay Wilder, left, and Tyson Fury exchange words as they face each other at a news conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, November 28, 2018. The pair are slated to fight Saturday night for Wilder's WBC heavyweight title. (Photo by Andrew Couldridge/Action Images via Reuters)

A participant, surrounded by red chilli peppers, takes part in a chilli-eating competition at a hot spring in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China on December 9, 2018. (Photo by Chen Fei/China News Service via Reuters)

Cardi B attends the Fanatics Super Bowl Party at College Football Hall of Fame on February 2, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/WireImage)

Models present creations by LaQuan Smith at the Intrepid during fashion week in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 12, 2022. (Photo by Caitlin Ochs/Reuters)

Members of the Radio City Rockettes rehearse for the “2022 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., October 19, 2022. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Lebanese actress Rita Hayek shows her 10km medal after participating in the 9th edition of the Women's Race in Beirut on March 19, 2023, under the slogan “Draw Your Path”. (Photo by Anwar Amro/AFP Photo)