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 participant, surrounded by red chilli peppers, takes part in a chilli-eating competition at a hot spring in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China on December 9, 2018. (Photo by Chen Fei/China News Service via Reuters)

Masked guests attend the “Grand Bal Christian Dior” during the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Monday, January 22, 2018. (Photo by Kamil Zihnioglu/AP Photo)

Indian Hindu sadhus (holy men) from the Juna Akhara take part in a religious procession towards Sangam area, during the first “royal entry” for the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on December 25, 2018. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

Russian Emergency Situations employees help a girl to bath in the icy water on Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Russia, Friday, January 18, 2019. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Two young women huddle up in their coats as they brave the cold in Newcastle, England on February 1, 2019. Women in skimpy dresses and men in t-shirts enjoyed a drink and a dance as they celebrated January finally being over. (Photo by Will Walker/North News and Pictures)

Jackie Galarza greets the Camarasaurus dinosaur held by Houston Ferguson during the “Jurassic Quest” experience at Broward County Convention Center on July 08, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Fans of dinosaurs can walk through moving and roaring animatronic replicas of the now extinct creatures during the three-day event. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A woman pushes a child aboard a plastic basin as they wade through floodwaters brought about by Super Typhoon Noru on September 26, 2022 in San Miguel, Bulacan province, Philippines. Super Typhoon Noru made landfall in the Philippines overnight, causing widespread flooding and leaving at least five dead. High winds and heavy rains have flattened villages and have increased the threat of landslides. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)