Social activist and former Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen has been named to Time’s first Women of the Year list.
The founder of the civil rights group Rise will be one of 12 women featured in the magazine’s next two issues beginning on March 4.
Nguyen came into national prominence when she used her unfortunate experience as a rape victim to advocate for survivors. She launched a successful campaign in Congress in 2016 for the passage of the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights. President Obama would sign the act into law.
Others to make the Time’s list include Tracy Chou, Allyson Felix, Amanda Gorman, Sherrilyn Ifill, Jennie Joseph, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Kerry Washington, Kacey Musgraves, Amal Clooney, Adena Friedman, and Zahra Joya.
“The collective action of these women will continue to reshape the world towards equality and I’m honored to be among them,” said Nguyen, in a statement released to AsAmNews. “I’m thankful to the team at TIME to bring the work of women leaders to the forefront for our younger generations to learn and be inspired.”
Chanel Miller, a rape survivor herself who was thrust into the news after being sexually assaulted by a competitive swimmer at Stanford University, interviewed Nguyen for Time.
“Justice looks different for different people. I processed mine through realizing that my story was bigger than myself and that I could fight for these rights and it would make a difference for other people. I didn’t want anyone to have to go through what I went through,” she told Miller.
Nguyen has also been a strong voice in encouraging leaders in business, sports and philanthropy to increase AAPI representation in light of the rising level of anti-Asian hate in the country. She has also pushed for the inclusion of Asian American Studies in our school systems to educate the young about the role AAPIs have had in building this country.
“Change comes from our innate values. We can speak up—not only because we want to, but because we have to. The opposite of love isn’t hated. It’s apathy. What I want people to understand is that we can always make the choice to be better,” Nguyen said in Time.