Valik Vladimirovich plays dressed as a soldier in Stoyanka outskirts Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, May 30, 2022. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

A man prepares to tie a black ribbon next to a makeshift memorial during a prayer ceremony for the victims of the 2004 tsunami on the 16th anniversary of the disaster, at Marina Beach in Chennai, India, December 26, 2020. (Photo by P. Ravikumar/Reuters)

Clowns pose for a picture during the International Clown Day in Guadalajara, Mexico, on December 10, 2019. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)

Giraffes cross under the bridge of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line inside the Nairobi National Park in Nairobi, Kenya, May 25, 2020. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

Jo Swinson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats takes part in some boxing practice as she campaigns at a boxing gym for young people on November 13, 2019 in London, England. The United Kingdom will hold a general election on December 12. (Photo by Leon Neal/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)

A participant in the 5th Lady on Bicycle annual festival opens her bag in the back basket of her tricycle in the Sokolniki park in Moscow on August 6, 2017. The festival's aim is to capture the city's fashionable women on vintage style bicycles. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A photo taken on August 21, 2017 shows girls passing in front of a building with a display of the Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin Order in Volgograd, Russia. Volgograd Arena will host several cames of the FIFA World Cup 2018. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)