Stephanie Fernandez loves nothing more than turning models into zombies with spine-chilling artwork. The 18-year-old Louisiana girl's torturous designs amaze fans of incredible zombie make-up. (Photo by Instagram.com)

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)

In the 1970′s, actress and model Tippi Hedren (mother of actress Melanie Griffith) created the Shambala Preserve after producing the film Roar. The preserve rescued exotic big cats living in captivity that had been abused or were in need of help, one of which the family created a close bond with. Neil the lion lived with the family in their home, and played an active role in the day to day activities of the preserve.

In this photo taken on Saturday, November 16, 2013, Mt. Etna, Europe's most active volcano, spews lava during an eruption as seen from Acireale, near the Sicilian town of Catania, Italy. (Photo by Carmelo Imbesi/AP Photo)

Trainees of the Tianjiao Special Guard/Security Consultant bodyguard training camp watch their instructor use a scarf to cover a student's head during a demonstration of close-quarter combat skills at a special course on flight safety inside a scale model of a passenger jet at a flight attendant training centre on the outskirts of Beijing, March 18, 2014. Inspired by the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the company wanted to emphasize the importance of aviation safety by teaching their trainees emergency evacuation procedures and close-quarter combat skills to handle situations such as natural disasters and plane hijacks, according to the company. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

“Hey! I'm Thomas Shahan, an artist and macrophotographer from Oklahoma. In my spare time over the past few years, I've been shooting portraiture of local arthropods. Why would I devote countless hours to tramping through forests, fields and the like searching for insects and spiders? Well, despite some common beliefs, arthropods (members of the phylum Arthropoda – insects, spiders, crustaceans...) represent an endlessly varied, wildly beautiful and fascinating bunch of animals with surprisingly personable faces and behavior. Often, all it takes is simply inspecting their lives on a closer level to turn repulsion to reverence”. – Thomas Shahan

Photo: Adult Male Jumping Spider at Sunset – Phidippus mystaceus. (Photo by Thomas Shahan; Source: Flickr)

Employee Victoria Livesey walks past Banksy's “Kate Moss 2005” on display at Bonhams on March 23, 2012 in London, England. The painting, estimated at GBP 30,000 – 50,000, USD 48,000 – 79,000 and 35,000 – 59,000 euros forms part of the Urban Art Sale, which takes place at Bonhams on March 29, 2012. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)