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 sewer cleaner of Dhaka City Corporation cleaning out the city's sewers on May 03, 2017 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Despite a rise in the number of deaths of manhole workers every year, workers regularly go into the manholes without any protective gear. (Photo by Zakir Chowdhury/Barcroft Images)

An Iranian Shiite Muslim prays in Laylat al-Qadr, or the night of destiny, during holy fasting month of Ramadan after midnight, in central Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 18, 2017. Laylat al-Qadr is the night when Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to prophet Muhammad. Worshipers gather in religious ceremonies to pray, ask forgiveness and make wishes on one of the most important nights of the Islamic calendar. Shiite Muslims, the vast majority of Iranians, believe the night happens either on 19th, 21st or 23rd of the holy month of Ramadan. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Convicted murderer Hector Alvarado Mazariegos, right, drops to the ground as he is hit by bullets of a Guatemala firing squad in the public cemetery at Mazatenango, June 28, 1975. His companion, Rocael Ortiz, met the same fate a few seconds later. Both were convicted of murder. (Photo by AP Photo/Anzueto)

Alligators and an egret stand on the banks of the Bento Gomes river next to the Transpantaneira road at the Pantanal wetlands near Pocone, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Monday, September 14, 2020. A vast swath of the vital wetlands is burning in Brazil, sweeping across several national parks and obscuring the sun behind dense smoke. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

A child in a Supergirl costume pays respects as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose under the Portico at the top of the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building, in Washington, U.S. September 23, 2020. (Photo by Alex Brandon/Pool via Reuters)

Villagers riding a rickshaw maneuver along an overflowing dam at the border between Cavite province and Las Pinas city, in Las Pinas, Philippines, 25 October 2020. According to Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Typhoon Molave will make landfall in the evening of 25 October in southern Luzon island. An alert was issued to residents for possible floods and landslides. (Photo by Francis R Malasig/EPA/EFE)

French-Swiss street artist Saype poses as he works on his artwork on a floating barge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey on October 23, 2020, as part of the “Beyond Walls” project to create a spray-painted “human chain” across the world to encourage humanity and equality. (Photo by Murad Sezer/Reuters)