Hungarian LGBT activist among Time's 100 most influential

A Hungarian academic and activist is among this year’s 100 most influential people in the world for her work on a children’s book that set into motion a heated conflict over human rights in the Central European country

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- An academic and LGBT activist in Hungary is among the word's 100 most influential people, according to Time magazine, for her work on a children's book that set in motion a debate over human rights in the Central European country.

“It’s an honor. Obviously, it feels really rewarding to be one of these amazing 100 people,” Dorottya Redai, a researcher at the CEU Democracy Institute in Budapest and activist with the Labrisz Lesbian Association, told The Associated Press.

The magazine included Redai on its annual TIME100 list last month to honor her efforts to advance LGBT rights in Hungary, where recent moves by the country's right-wing government have been blasted as an attack on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

At the center of Redai's recent work was her spearheading the publication of “Meseorszag Mindenkie” ("Fairyland is for Everyone"), a children's book that retells classic fairytales. The book features disabled children, Roma people, LGBT protagonists and members of other minority groups as characters.