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 woman holds her dogs during a snow flurry as temperatures dropped below freezing during the third coronavirus lockdown in London, Tuesday, February 9, 2021. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo)

A girl holds a blossom in her mouth while posing for photos under cherry blossom trees at Wuhan University on March 11, 2021 in Wuhan, China. Tourists come to view cherry blossoms at the university during the spring. Wuhan University, first founded in 1893, is widely known as one of the most beautiful universities in China. (Photo by Getty Images/China Stringer Network)

Girls in Han costumes pose for a photo with blooming cherry blossoms at Yuyuantan Park during Qingming Festival holiday on April 4, 2022 in Beijing, China. Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, falls on April 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Naiming/VCG via Getty Images)

A man checks his footing as he wades through the Morris Canal Outlet in Jersey City, N.J., as the sun sets on the lower Manhattan skyline of New York City, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (Photo by J. David Ake/AP Photo)

American stand-up comedian and actress Whitney Cummings fools around with photographers after she, Griffin Johnson, and Josh Richards have dinner together at Craig's in West Hollywood, CA. on April 6, 2021. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

A demonstrator plays the role of person hanging herself during a protest over the Thai government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and to demand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's resignation, in Bangkok, Thailand, September 6, 2021. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

British-American actress and model Lily Collins replicates Cher Horowitz's “Clueless” moment in the first decade of May 2022. (Photo by lilyjcollins/Instagram)