Tenzin Yangkyi from Switzerland crowned Miss Tibet

The youngest participant among the six, Yangkyi won the title on Sunday night in a glittering finale at the Auditorium of Tibetan Institute of Performing arts in Dharamsala.

Ngodup Dolma, a 25-year-old Tibetan nurse from Australia, was declared the first runners up and another 25-year-old, Dolma Tsering, a computer engineer from Infosys was adjudged the third runners up.

Yangkyi, who speaks Tibetan, German, and English fluently, said that she wants to draw the attention of the international community towards her embattled home.

"Tibetan women are educated and beautiful but role models are needed to ensure their effective participation in Tibetcause and Miss Tibet can be the role model to spread awareness," said Yangkyi.

The winner of this 10th edition of Miss Tibet awarded a sum of Rs one lakh, while the first and second runners up will receive a prize money of 50 and 25 thousand respectively.
Pageant director Lobsang Wangyal said that he is organizing the contest since 2001, twice with only one contestant turning out and eventually being declared winners unopposed in 2003 and 2005.

Only 32 girls have competed for the crown since it was first started in 2001 by Wangyal who drew criticism from some sections within the Tibetan society including the Tibetan prime minister Samdhong Rinpoche who said the pageant was "un-Tibetan" and "against Buddhist principles".