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 child gets his head shaved by a Buddhist monk during a ceremony to prepare children to live as Buddhist monks for three weeks at Jogyesa Temple on May 09, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. As part of the celebration of Buddha's birthday, young children are annually invited to become Buddhist monks for a three-week period. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Three young women sprint for cover after getting caught but they were laughing with joy. Fun for some – not so much for others. Leaping over and into puddles. Torrential rain and lightning and thunder in North London Highgate on August 17, 2022. Storm drenched people out and created huge puddles for traffic People ran to escape. (Photo by Gavin Rodgers/Pixel8000)

A young cholita from “Warmi Empollerada” project is portrayed emulating to fly with an umbrella during the sunset at the Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flats), southwestern Bolivia, on June 25, 2023. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat and a top tourist destination in Bolivia and South America. (Photo by Marcelo Perez Del Carpio/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Shakar Rustami (L) and Zulaikha Amini, organizers of the“'Smart Way” book and painting exhibition stand in front of painting in Kabul, Afghanistan, 21 August 2023. Young female artists in Kabul held a painting exhibition to express the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls. The exhibition also featured books displayed by students to promote reading culture. Some of the girls called for the Taliban to lift the restrictions against women and girls. Many female students turned to painting and drawing after schools and universities closed. (Photo by Samiullah Popal/EPA/EFE)

In this September 14, 2017 photo, young women pose for a photo inside their squatter building that used to house the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in the Mangueira slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many lower-middle class Brazilians who gained ground during the boom years have since slid back closer to the poverty line. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)

North Korean cheerleaders arrive at a rest stop, or service station, as their bus convoy carrying a 280- member delegation on its way to the 2018 Pyeongchang winter Olympic games, makes its way past Gapyeong on February 7, 2018 More than 200 young North Korean women arrived in South Korea to root for athletes from both sides of the peninsula at the Winter Olympics. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

A young woman flashes the victory sign in front of a bonfire as Turkish Kurds gather during Newroz celebrations for the new year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2018. Newroz (also known as Nawroz or Nowruz) is an ancient Persian festival, which is also celebrated by Kurdish people, marking the first day of spring, which falls on March 21. (Photo by Ilyas Akengin/AFP Photo)