监狱举办选美大赛庆祝妇女节

俄罗斯西伯利亚地区的一座女子监狱近日举办了一次选美大赛，迎接“三八国际妇女节”。这座监狱位于海参崴以北62英里的一处定居点，参与选美的女犯褪去“号服”，换上长礼服一展风采。最终，一位名叫玛利亚•盖潘克的女犯摘得桂冠。自1977年联合国建议各成员国将3月8日定为“联合国妇女权益及世界和平日”以来，各国在每年的这一天都会举行庆祝活动。

Inmates at a women's prison in Siberia have taken part in a beauty contest to mark International Women's Day.

The contestants were the residents of Penal Colony No 10 at the Gorni settlement, which lies about 62 miles north of Vladivostok.

They shed their usual prison outfits for gowns and paraded in front of a cheering audience before inmate Maria Gapenko was eventually crowned the winner.

International Women's Day - which takes place on March 8 - was started as a socialist political event and is particularly popular in eastern Europe and Russia.

In recent years, however, western cultures have become more interested in the event, particularly since 1977 when the UN suggested member states take up the day as the UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.