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)

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 worker caresses a donkey at the Retired Animals Farm in Turkey's Bursa on October 01, 2020. Animal Rights Federation in Turkey (HAYTAP) established a “Retired Animals Farm” in Bursa for animals that were tortured, thrown out by their owners, injured and in need of assistance for similar reasons. Built in the neighborhood of Baskoy in Nilufer district after long term efforts, the farm provides a home to animals of many species, such as horse, donkey, cow, sheep, chicken from all around Turkey. The farm project receives support from various institutions and organizations. (Photo by Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A motorcycle carrying a pig crosses a flooded road in Albay province, central Philippines due to Typhoon Vamco on Thursday, November 12, 2020. (Photo by John Michael Magdasoc/AP Photo)

Young women pose for photos in a Christmas-themed tunnel lit-up with decorations outside a shopping mall in Bangkok on December 4, 2020. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A Rohingya Muslim girl, Saira Begum carries food items distributed in aid as she walks towards her shelter in Taiy Khali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Tuesday, September 19, 2017. With a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims sparking accusations of ethnic cleansing from the United Nations and others, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday said her country does not fear international scrutiny and invited diplomats to see some areas for themselves. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)

This photo taken on November 4, 2019 shows people taking part in a fish catching competition in a paddy field in Leishan county in China's southwestern Guizhou province, to celebrate the new year festival Miao people. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Sikh Nihang (Sikh warriors) perform “Gatka”, an ancient form of Sikh martial arts, during the “Nagar Kirtan” procession to mark the 339th birth anniversary of the Sikh warrior Shaheed Baba Deep Singh, in Amritsar on January 31, 2021. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo/Profimedia)