The Mrs. Universe 2017 crown went to Vietnam in a pageant that featured 84 married women standing together against violence towards women.
Vietnamese Tram Hoang Luu snagged the crown in the 40th annual Mrs. Universe pageant which took place in Durban, South Africa.
The newly minted Mrs. Universe winner went up against two other pageant finalists, France’s Anastasia Gorshkova and Gabon’s Gwen Madiba. According to Gulf News, contestants ranged from 25-45 years old and all were involved in a cause that helps others in order to represent the pageant’s theme slogan — “Empowering Women. Creating Change.”
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
The Mrs. Universe 2017 pageant also made history since this is the first time the event has been held on African soil. The event’s women empowerment theme even extended beyond the pageant as supporters marched the streets of Durban in the hopes of raising awareness to women and child abuse.
South African supporters who weren’t able to travel to Durban hosted their own event in order to show their support to the beauty pageant’s #OneVoice movement, according to SouthCoastHerald. Supporters are also calling for the government to give harsher sentences to women and child abusers to minimize the number of repeat offenders.
While the lines “Enough is enough”, “we are tired of crying” and “no to women abuse” echoed throughout the rally, the event followed through without violence. A bevy of supporters filled the streets, but managed to march peacefully through the city.
Meanwhile, the Miss Universe beauty pageant also had its own share of historic moments recently, with Laos announcing their very first candidate for the renowned event, while Cambodia crowned their historic candidate as well.
Featured Image Screenshot via YouTube/AFP news agency
