Police are treating the attack at Lincoln Court as a hate crime.
The device was placed on the window sill and exploded shortly after 22:10 BST on Saturday.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland's district commander Supt Mark McEwan said he would not rule out paramilitary involvement.
"This is a hate crime, now the sectarian motivation is one of the lines of enquiry," he said.
"There are other motivating factors in this hate crime such as the fact that the victim herself is a member of the LGBT community.
"Naturally we wouldn't rule out paramilitary involvement in any sort of attack of this nature."
The woman told BBC Newsline that police have warned her that it might not be safe for her to return to her home.
She described seeing a "big flash and loads and loads of smoke" when the device detonated.
"I was sitting in the house, in the living-room, and the next thing the whole lot came in round me," she said.
"It really just scared the life out of me."
Army bomb disposal officers were called to the scene and five homes were evacuated for a time overnight.
The woman moved into the house 10 months ago but said she may have to leave permanently as a result of the attack.
"I had it the way I wanted it and I was doing things to it and now I can't. I just have to go and just have to re-start again.
"You just, sort of, get used to people putting you out of places, they obviously just don't want you here," she added.
SDLP councillor Gerard Diver said it was "unbelievable that this type of sinister event can still happen in 2015".
"My complete sympathy is with the victim of this attack who thankfully has escaped physical harm, but who I'm sure has been traumatised by the events," he said.
Ulster Unionist councillor Mary Hamilton said several elderly people live in the area and also condemned the attack.
A woman has described how she narrowly escaped injury when a pipe bomb exploded, smashing a window at her house in Londonderry.