A general view of atmosphere at the annual VOLT Festival in Sopron, 208 kms west of Budapest, Hungary on August 16, 2016. (Photo by Rockstar Photographers)

Children of the Roma community play as they cool off in a fountain in the main square of Pristina, Kosovo on June 14, 2017. (Photo by Armend Nimani/AFP Photo)

A woman holding a girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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)

1. Jennifer Lopez

Sri Lankan military personnel march during the country's 66th Independence Day celebrations in the central town of Kegalle, about 40 kms from the capital Colombo on February 4, 2014. Sri Lanka cemmemorates its independence from British rule on February 4, 1948. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A person walks by an Ocean Rebellion activist taking part in a demonstration outside Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in London, Britain on September 15, 2021. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

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)