Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, exiled from Iran since 2009, is among Time's 12 women of the year chosen for "significant impact on their communities".
The magazine highlights that Masih, 46, has long denounced the restrictions imposed on women in Iran and calls the compulsory hijab a "wall".
Her activity sparked the anger of the leader of the Islamic Republic Ali Khamenei, which culminated in a kidnapping attempt in 2021.
Last year, the US Justice Department also said there was a conspiracy to assassinate her.
"Iranian women are Kahmenei's biggest enemy," said Alinejad, "she is afraid of us more than anything else."
In an interview with Time, the activist recalled that she hasn't hugged or seen her mother for 13 years: "I've forgotten her face," she said, but "Iran is inside me. I'm there every single day through my social media": the only way to connect with his homeland, where his elderly mother still lives.
The depth of her connection with young Iranians - she has nearly 9 million followers on Instagram - makes her say that the Islamic Republic's days are numbered.
"The words mean: because I'm a woman, I flourish through my wounds," said Masih, who lives with her husband and her son in a US secret FBI safehouse.