The success came in only in four years. She had started with something unknown in Muktagacha--rearing rabbits. She is now affluent and a source of inspiration to women like her.

Noorjahan Begum, daughter of Ismail Hossain of Chachua village in Kuktagacha upazila, was married to Habibur Rahman of Natakure village of the same upazila in 1999.

Within a short time, her days became harder at her husband's house. Her husband and in-laws pressed and often tortured her for dowry. One day, two months' pregnant Noorjahan was forced to leave her husband's house.

"It was very painful for me because I became a burden on my parents", said 22 year-old Noorjahan talking to this correspondent at her small farm built in the courtyard of her parents' house.

A pauper, I was in utter despair, thinking of myself and my baby".

Being inspired by her parents, Noorjahan started looking for something to survive. She took Tk 4000 loan from ASA, an NGO in Muktagacha in 2000 and bought 10 rabbit kids. She also took a short training.

Noorjahan and her poor parents reared those and earned over Tk 20,000 in a year. They invested the profit to expand the small farm. As things looked better, Noorjahan took more Tk 17000 loan from ASA in two phases. This year she took another loan of Tk 12,000.

Now she has 120 rabbits in her farm and some 300 kids are born every month. It is very profitable because five to eight kids are born to one rabbit in a year. The kids can be sold within a month at around Tk 50 per piece, said Noorjahan.

The kids are sold for around Tk 15,000, which leaves a profit of about Tk 11,000 a month after meeting all expenditures including feed, she said.

"The work is very easy and we do not need any labourer", she said.

Noorjahan, now a self reliant woman, is very keen to expand her farm. The enlightened woman wants to educate her only son Rony, now a two-year child.

Meanwhile, Noorjahan has filed a dowry case against her husband.