Olena Shevchenko, Ukrainian human rights defender, head of the public LGBTQI organization Insight and co-organizer of the Womenʼs March, became TIME magazineʼs woman of the year.
Every year, TIME selects 12 women leaders who have made a significant contribution to the fight for human rights. Other leaders include Australian actress Cate Blanchett, Pakistani human rights activist and eco-activist Aisha Siddiqui, Somali and British boxer Ramla Ali, Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad, American indie rock musician Phoebe Bridgers, and others.
Since 2017, when Shevchenko became a co-founder of the Insight organization, she has been attacked seven times.
In a comment to TIME, Olena Shevchenko said that her goal is to show that the LGBT+ community is very active “on various front lines, not only in the military, but also in other areas.”
“I dedicate this victory to all the invisible women of Ukraine who are doing the impossible, bringing our victory closer,” Shevchenko wrote.