A thrill-seeking storm chaser captured the precise moment these giant lightning bolts lit up dark skies in a series of incredible storms. (Photo by Craig Eccles/Solent News & Photo Agency)

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)

Revellers take a break during the Carnival 2016 parade in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 8, 2016. (Photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters)

Van cats, relatively large, have a chalky white coat, sometimes with ruddy coloration on the head and hindquarters, and have blue or amber eyes or have heterochromia, are seen at “Cat Villa”, established to protect the cats in Van, Turkey on January 20, 2021. Internationally valid “health certificate” is prepared for Van cats, visited by local and foreign tourists, within a project to protect their generations and increasing their numbers. Health certificates with information such as name, breed, gender, eye color, date of birth, tail feature, color, hearing status and identity are given to people who want to adopt cats. (Photo by Mesut Varol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A man wearing a protective face mask walks past traditional large puppet figures called “Ondel-ondel”, also donning face masks and displayed along a sidewalk of a main road, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases surge in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 30, 2021. (Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

Health workers watch as the vaccine against the Coronavirus arrives at a nursing home in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, December 27, 2020. The first shipments of coronavirus vaccines developed by BioNTech and Pfizer have arrived across the European Union, authorities started to vaccinate the most vulnerable people in a coordinated effort on Sunday. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

A member of the 324 Squadron during the Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia on 23 April 2019. Anzac Day, held annually on 25 April, is a national day of remembrance across Australia and New Zealand, which commemorates the people who lost their lives or served in wars and conflicts. The day coincides with the first landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli, Turkey, in World War One. (Photo by Steven Saphore/Australian Associated Press)

(L-R) American actress Alexandra Shipp and American model Paris Jackson attend The Elizabeth Taylor Ball To End AIDS at West Hollywood Park on September 15, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)