HÀ NỘI — Trần Thị Hiền, a 49-year-old from Hà Nội who works in the construction sector, won the Mrs Việt Nam title on December 18.

Hiền, who was the oldest among the 21 finalists, also won the Q&A round with her quick and meaningful response to the question: “What should divorced women do to overcome their own inferiority complex and social prejudice?”

“I want to tell them that they have no faults,” she answered. “They are just unlucky. They should use their strong will to overcome the most difficult stage of life. They will see divorce is not the most terrible thing. Be independent, self confident and choose a good future. In a civilised society, many people understand their case. In order to erase social prejudice, all of us have no other choice than overcoming ourselves.”

Nguyễn Thị Thúy Nga, head of the organising board, said selecting a winner was not a sudden decision. Judges had followed all the rounds to select the competitors who performed the best.

Hiền possesses professional performance skills.

She graduated from Hà Nội Water Resources University, later receiving an MA from the same university.

The first runner-up prize went to Phạm Thị Hải Yến, born in 1979, from HCM City, while the second runner-up was Nguyễn Thị Khuyên, born in 1987, from central province of Nghệ An.

The contest has been permitted by the culture ministry’s Department for Performing Arts for nearly ten years since 2009.

The contest this year gathered hundreds of competitors aged between 25 and 50 from across the nation and overseas from all walks of life.

Top five also included Nguyễn Hương Giang and Phạm Thị Ngọc Trúc. — VNS