Nepalese women and young girls struggle to drink homemade alcohol poured through a pipe sticking out of the mouth of Swet Bhairab, a god of Power, during the Indra Jatra festival at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, 17 September 2016. Hundreds of women and young girls gathered to drink alcohol as a blessing from idol of Swet Bhairab which they believes will keep them free from all diseases. The Indra Jatra festival is celebrated to honor Indra, the king of gods and god of rains. The festival also marks the end of the monsoon. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

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 girl carries bottles of water filled from a charity tank at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) near Sanaa, Yemen on March 25, 2022. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

A young girl walks with a Ukrainian flag during an event for Ukrainian Independence Day in the historical Grand Place of Brussels, Wednesday, August 24, 2022. European leaders are pledging unwavering support for Ukraine as the war-torn country marks its Independence Day. The commemorations Wednesday coincide with the six-month milestone of Russia's invasion. (Photo by Virginia Mayo/AP Photo)

A young girl tries to catch snow on her tongue near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, before the start of a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the legacy of the late civil rights leader in Washington, DC on January 15, 2024. The ceremony is being held to honor the civil rights leader on the anniversary of his birthday. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Photo)

A girl wearing a flower wreath takes part in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, on March 17, 2025. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A displaced Iraqi girl, who fled her home, cries during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, near Badush, Iraq, March 16, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A Palestinian girl with her body painted by special effects makeup artist Alaa Abu Mustafa, 20, sits on a boat in the southern Gaza Strip, March 22, 2018. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)