Nikki Reed is seen shopping at American Rag in Los Angeles, CA., on May 14, 2014. (Photo by Bauergriffin.com)

A woman reacts as she poses with a man dressed up as the Star Wars character Chewbacca outside the Dolby Theatre, the site of the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 26, 2016. (Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters)

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)

In this Sunday, June 27, 2010 file photo two men compete in an ostrich race at Highgate ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn, South Africa. Clambering onto an ostrich for a ride used to be popular among tourists in a South African town of Oudtshoorn known of as the “ostrich capital of the world”. Not so much anymore. Two major ostrich farms in Oudtshoorn have stopped offering ostrich rides to tourists, responding to concerns about the birds’ welfare. A third farm is sticking with the feature, saying it is regulated and that ostriches do not experience discomfort. The Highgate farm, however, continues to offer ostrich rides. (Photo by Shuji Kajiyama/AP Photo)

A policeman is pictured near a woman with a baby during an operation against drug dealers in Cidade de Deus or City of God slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 23, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

A dog attends the Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City, U.S., October 19, 2025. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Cheerleaders wearing face masks due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen at the first professional baseball league game of the season at Taoyuan International baseball stadium in Taoyuan city, Taiwan, April 11, 2020. (Photo by Ann Wang/Reuters)

Two working girls entertaining themselves in the absence of customers at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel owned by Dennis Hof, in Lyon County, one of the fews counties in the USA which permits legalized prostitution. (Photo by Stephan Gladieu/Getty Images)