BEED, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Constable Meena Ghodke may be in the bottom rank of her local police force but it is the highest anyone has climbed in her village - man or woman - and she could not be prouder.

Not for Ghodke the usual wrench from school to farm work, early marriage and motherhood. Part of a wave of young village women who want more from life, the 26-year-old had plans.

“I didn’t want to work as a farm labor or marry. I spent half my school days toiling on the farm, but the yield was always poor. I never felt rewarded,” said Ghodke.

She spoke to the Thomson Reuters Foundation from her home in Beed, western India, where she carefully pinned on her name tag, buckled her belt and tied her hair in a tight bun before leaving for the local station where she works as a constable.

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