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)

A boy plays on the glass at Thailand's first skywalk in Bangkok, Thailand on November 18, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders including the first two male cheerleaders in Super Bowl history (C) perform in the third quarter of Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 03 February 2019. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/EPA/EFE)

A bronze statue of late singer Ella Fitzgerald is seen wearing a hat and protective face mask, as the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, outside the Metro-North Railroad Station Plaza in Yonkers, New York, U.S., November 17, 2020. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

A monolith placed in the Utah wilderness in November 2020. New clues have surfaced in the disappearance of the gleaming monolith that seemed to melt away as mysteriously as it appeared in the red-rock desert. A Colorado photographer told a TV station in Salt Lake City that he saw four men push over the hollow, stainless steel structure last Friday night. (Photo by Terrance Siemon/AP Photo)

Women dance on top of a car as revelers enjoy spring break festivities despite an 8pm curfew imposed by local authorities, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., March 20, 2021. (Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters)

TCU Horned Frogs twirler performs at halftime of the game against the Baylor Bears at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, USA on November 6, 2021. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)

A woman holds her dog to be blessed outside St. Anton Church to mark St. Anton Day, Animal patron saint, in downtown Madrid, Spain, 17 Jan​uary 2022. (Photo by David Fernandez/EPA/EFE)