The aerial view shows three uprooted trees at a road near Hildesheim, Germany Friday, October 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. (Photo by Julian Stratenschulte/DPA via AP Photo)

Matthew Tkachuk #19 of Team USA fights with Brandon Hagel #38 of Team Canada during the first period in the 4 Nations Face-Off game at the Bell Centre on February 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/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 leather worker with his frightening types of clothes prepares after painted themselves using chimney soot as they participate in a programme within the September 6 celebrations, in Balikesir, Turkey on September 06, 2019. According to the story, “Tulutabaklar” were painting themselves with ash and wearing goatskin or sheep skin to frighten the Greek soldiers occupying Balikesir during the National Struggle period. Every year on September 6, Tulutabaklar perform this ritual as part of the celebration of liberation of the city for 96 years. (Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Belarusian schoolchildren, who are members of a pro-government Young Pioneer movement, perform with drums as they take part in a meeting to mark the 95th anniversary of their organisation in Minsk, Belarus May 19, 2017. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Women take part in Glowork exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 28, 2017. (Photo by Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters)

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough sit courtside as the Celtics play the Lakers in Los Angeles, March 2012. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

A four-day old African spurred tortoise, Geochelone sulcata, one of eight babies, was place on the head of its mother in their enclosure in Nyiregyhaza Animal Park in Nyiregyhaza, 226 km east of Budapest, Hungary, 27 September 2011. This was the first time that offspring of an African spurred tortoise were born in this zoo. The eight babies hatched after 115 days, they are 5.5 cms long and weigh 25 grams. Spurred tortoise is the largest species of land tortoises in Africa, the weight of an adult animal may reach 80 kgs. (Photo by Attila Balazs/EPA)