On 8 March 2011, we celebrate the centenary of International Women’s Day. It’s an opportunity to stop and consider the achievements of women around the world and at the same time remember that there is still much to be done towards reaching gender equality for all.

On this International Women’s Day, we salute the Jungle Flower Women’s Development Group in Bangladesh, who have demonstrated how investing in women can reap rewards for an entire community.

The group of 20 women started a tractor rental business with World Vision’s help that has earned them both income and new-found respect.

In the rural area of northern Bangladesh where the women live, many families work on farms and rice paddies for a living. The savvy women recognised a business opportunity after seeing how many farmers needed to rent a tractor to till their land.  

World Vision helped them to buy a tractor and today the business is thriving. They charge farmers around $23 per acre to rent the tractor and profits are shared among group members. So far, they have been able to buy two cows with their earnings and hope to earn enough to buy another pair, further increasing the group’s income raising potential.

“We are all being changed,” says Rashida, the group’s chair. “We are saving some amount of money and we are united.”

Agricultural officer Mohsin Ali says the business has empowered the women and many are now respected community leaders. He said that many of the women didn’t have respect or any money before they started the group. Now they have more than $915 in savings.

Since most of the women’s husbands are farmers, they are also reaping the rewards of their wives’ business acumen.