Published by BBC Online

When Estela Martín got a black lotus flower tattooed on the upper part of her right foot at the age of 18, her parents were unhappy about it, but she saw it as a positive symbol.

“I’ve always liked the idea that the lotus represents, which is that you have to fight for what you want,” she says.

But 12 years later, that same tattoo has left her fighting to save her ambition of a career in the Spanish military.

In June, Ms Martín took part in a civil service exam to become a military psychologist. She had left her previous job, in a Madrid hospital, two years earlier in order to study and prepare herself for the highly competitive selection process…. (See article)