Nguyen Vu Xuan Lan from Ho Chi Minh City won the first prize. The prize included a trip to Belgium to meet its Deputy Prime Minister, professional painters and popular local publishers. 

The illustration of artist Nguyen Thanh Duy from Hanoi secured both the second place and the highest online vote. 

Tran Thu Huong, a Hanoi’s resident, came in third. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Jehanne Roccas said the organising board was thrilled as more than half of the entries were from females. 

The high quality of submissions makes it hard for the board to decide, and the drawings, even without descriptions, still evoked laughter, thoughts and tears, she added. 

According to the diplomat, the competition reflected Vietnamese people’s interest in the issue of gender equality. 

The contest, the first of its kind organised in Vietnam, opened for submissions from November 25, 2015 to January 18, 2016 with 116 illustrations submitted nationwide. The competing satires posted online received 10,000 votes from local audiences. 

Forty outstanding artwork selected from the competition will be on display at the Vietnam Women’s Museum from March 1-10.