Reshma Qureshi suspected the translucent liquid in the plastic bottle was probably acid, yet she believed the best way to protect herself and her sister was to wrestle it from the four men. 
 
 As it was, the men held and attacked her, pouring the acid on her arms and back and her face. It ate away the flesh on her left cheek and destroyed her eye. In the aftermath she felt suicidal, and for a year she could think of nothing else. 
 
 This week, the 19-year-old flew from India to the US where she walked the ramp at New York Fashion Week, determined to show her quiet defiance as a survivor, and to promote the #TakeBeautyBack campaign. 
 
 “This is my first time in New York and I’m very excited,” she told The Independent, the evening before her appearance. “I think it’s important that people hear the story about the survivors of acid attacks and to know they can lead normal lives.” 
 
 Acid attacks are commonplace across large parts of the Indian subcontinent and in some South Asian communities in other countries. Frequently, the women are attacked by people they know - relatives who believed they have “dishonoured” the family for some reason or other, or else a man whose advances have been knocked back. 
 
 Ms Qureshi, who is from Mumbai, was attacked in May 2014 by her sister’s estranged husband and his friends while traveling to the city of Allahabad in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. She was taken to a local hospital and received the most basic treatment; back in Mumbai she was told there was nothing that could be done to save her eye. 
 
 In recent years, campaigners have been demanding action against such attacks, demanding governments in countries such as India better regulate the sale of acid, which is used to clean machinery, and better educating the public about the horror of such incidents. 
 
 Ms Qureshi joined the fight against acid attacks a year after she was assaulted. She joined the India-based Make Love Not Scars, a nonprofit organisation that, through its powerful images of acid attack survivors, gives a voice to those who have been assaulted. 
 
 She took part in a video posted to YouTube in which she showed watchers how to get perfect red lips. In the video she explained that it is as easy for someone to buy acid as it is to buy a lip stick. The video has been watched by hundreds of thousands of people. 
 
 When she was told she had been invited to take her message to New York Fashion Week, Ms Qureshi said she had been thrilled. She said that just because someone’s face had been destroyed, they could could still carry within them inner beauty and soul. “That is all that should matter,” she said. 
 
 The teenager was selected to participate in fashion production house FTL Moda’s #TakeBeautyBack campaign, in collaboration with the Global Disability Inclusion. 
 
 The clothes she got to wear were designed by Indian designer, Archana Kochhar, whose outfits are frequently worn by Bollywood stars such as Amrita Rao, Nargis Fakhri and Bipasha Basu. 
 
 Speaking from Mumbai, Ms Kochhar said she was delighted that Ms Qureshi was taking part. “I think that beauty should be intrinsic.” 
 
 On Thursday morning, Ms Qureshi sat patiently as a crowd of cameras followed her every step backstage in Manhattan. She was filmed as the dress was fitted, she was filmed as her make-up was done by Chika Chan and her hair was piled to perfection by stylist Aubrey Loots. 
 
 Asked if she thought the models around her looked too thin and could do with a decent serving of Indian food, she agreed. 
 
 And then it was time for her to walk her way down the ramp. 
 
 Ms Qureshi was the first to emerge, her dress, hair and make-up looking perfect. She beamed and smiled, and the crowd of fashion industry professionals and journalists cheered. 
 
 (The last of the models to walk the ramp was Sunny Leone, an Indian Canadian model best known for her former roles as an adult actress who is now trying to make it in Bollywood.) 
 
 Afterwards, Ms Qureshi retreated to the dressing room area and watched the action and madness going on beneath her. She looked just a little overwhelmed. ||||| Warning: the images used in this story could be disturbing to some. 
 
 Two years ago, a 17-year-old Indian girl dreamed of finishing school and getting a good job. But a brutal attack originally meant for her sister, changed the course of her life. 
 
 Reshma Quereshi survived an acid attack by three assailants as she made her way to a school in the northern Indian town of Allahabad in May 2014. Her face was severely disfigured and one of her eyes permanently damaged after the men held her down and doused concentrated sulfuric acid on her, later determined to be a revenge attack carried out by her brother-in-law to punish her sister for taking their son. 
 
 Today, Quereshi will walk the runway during the most coveted fashion event of the year at the fashion capital of the world. The now 19-year-old will be showcasing the designs for two prominent Indian designers during the prime opening show for FTL Moda, the fashion production firm that works with powerhouse brands like Fendi, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent and Versace. 
 
 First, Quereshi will open for Mumbai-based designer Archana Kochhar, FTL Moda President Llaria Niccolini told ABC News. The merging of Quereshi's and Kochhar's worlds is significant because Kochhar's colorful, trendy designs represent luxury and decadence, while Quereshi grew up in a "very poor" area of India, Niccolini said. Quereshi may close the show as well. 
 
 "We love the idea of combining these two worlds to see how they can work together and send a message," Niccolini said. 
 
 During the evening show, Quereshi will walk for Vaishali Couture, which is considered one of the most significant fashion lines in India for its bespoke designs, Niccolini said. 
 
 It is not clear exactly what Quereshi will wear while walking the runway, but the outfit will undoubtedly be "special," Niccolini said. 
 
 Quereshi's participation in New York Fashion Week is part of FTL Moda's #TakeBeautyBack campaign, in collaboration with the Global Disability Inclusion and Fashion Week Online, which aims to end the practice of acid attacks. Quereshi's journey will soon be made into a documentary. 
 
 “My vision was: let’s push boundaries to include diversity in the fashion industry," Niccolini said of her decision to invite Quereshi, who had never left India until now, to walk in the fashion week opener. 
 
 As she began to heal from the attack, Quereshi became the face of Make Love Not Scars, a nonprofit organization that, through its powerful images of acid attack survivors, gives a voice to survivors and leads India's campaign against the sale of acid and prevalence of acid attacks. The organization posted a video to Facebook last month that showed the moment Quereshi found out she would be traveling to New York. 
 
 In the video, a smile emerged on Quereshi's face as soon as she learned about her upcoming trip. The smile quickly became tears of joy, and Quereshi could only nod when asked if she was excited to visit America. 
 
 Quereshi is adamant in her message that beauty lies within the soul and not in physical appearance. She often conducts makeup tutorials videos for Make Love Not Scar’s YouTube channel, such as “How to apply eyeliner” and “How to get perfect red lips," providing a compelling juxtaposition between the superficiality of outward beauty and the scores of honor attacks on women in her home country. 
 
 About 1,000 acid attacks are reported in India every year, according to Fashion Week Online, but that number is likely much higher. Helping to exacerbate the problem is the abundance of cheap, industrial strength acid, which is often used for cleaning and burns through the flesh. The number of acid attacks increased 250 percent between 2012 and 2014, and 90 percent of the survivors were women, according to a Make Love Not Scars open letter to the Indian prime minister. 
 
 In 2013, an order by India's Supreme Court attempted to control over-the-counter sales of acid, but it is still easily available for about 33 cents a liter, the Wall Street Journal reported. 
 
 “We wonder why a litre of concentrated acid is sold cheaper than 9 ml eyeliner," a Make Love Not Scars campaign featuring Quereshi reads. 
 
 We wonder why a litre of concentrated acid is sold cheaper than eyeliner #EndAcidSale A photo posted by Make Love Not Scars (@makelovenotscars) on Jan 25, 2016 at 10:11am PST 
 
 Niccolini hopes that Quereshi's fashion week appearance will provide powerful, strong and vivid support to those fighting against acid attacks around the globe. 
 
 "We can actually stop this thing," she said. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Indian model scarred in an acid attack challenged perceptions of beauty as she strutted down the runway at New York Fashion Week to promote a ban on the sale of corrosive substances used to maim thousands of women and children each year. 
 
 A smiling Reshma Quereshi, 19, opened the FTL Moda show on Thursday to applause in a long-sleeve, white gown with embroidered appliques by Indian designer Archana Kochhar during her first trip to the United States. 
 
 The buzz and glamour of the event was a world away from Allahbad, India, where she suffered severe facial burns and lost an eye two years ago after being attacked with sulfuric acid by her estranged brother-in-law and two men. 
 
 Quereshi never thought she would be going abroad, much less modeling in New York. 
 
 After enduring numerous skin graft surgeries and contemplating suicide, she met the founder of Make Love Not Scars, a group that helps survivors of the gender-based crimes. 
 
 Quereshi is the face of the group’s online video campaign, which has been viewed by 1.3 million people and led to her appearance in New York. 
 
 “I couldn’t believe it was happening to me,” Quereshi said about the trip through a translator. “In that moment I felt extremely happy.” 
 
 Indian model and acid attack survivor Reshma Quereshi has make up applied before walking to present Indian designer Archana Kochhar's Spring/Summer 2017 collections during New York Fashion Week in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 8, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson 
 
 She said she hopes her turn on the catwalk will inspire hope and confidence in other acid attack survivors and spur countries to regulate the sale of cheap and easily available acids. 
 
 “No one else understands what an acid attack is except the survivors themselves,” she said. “I do not want this to happen to anyone else.” 
 
 About 1,500 acid attacks are reported each year, but Jaf Shah, the executive director of the London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), said the real number is many times higher. 
 
 “There are whole swathes of regions across the globe where acid attacks are occurring but are not being recorded,” he said in an telephone interview. 
 
 “It is not reported for fear there might be reprisals from the perpetrators due to the fact that survivors and their immediate family have no confidence in the police or the judiciary to take action.” 
 
 India has the highest number of recorded attacks, which are often a form of revenge by jilted husbands or rejected suitors. ASTI describes it as a global phenomenon that occurs in countries ranging from Afghanistan and Iran to Nigeria and Colombia. 
 
 Shah said limiting the sale of acid, punishments for attackers, and compensation and care for survivors, are needed. People like Quereshi speaking out is also very important, he said. 
 
 Slideshow (4 Images) 
 
 “Victims coming forward are defying the perpetrators of the attacks,” he added. 
 
 Increasing diversity on the catwalk has been an aim of FTL Moda. The production company has featured models with disabilities, in wheelchairs, on crutches and amputees. Australian model Madeline Stuart, who has Down Syndrome, made her runway debut at the FTL Moda show last year. 
 
 “I think this is a powerful tool,” said FTL Moda founder Ilaria Niccolini. “I think it can make a change for the better.”
– Two years ago, Reshma Quereshi was permanently disfigured in an acid attack while walking to school in India. She was only 17. On Thursday, she walked in New York Fashion Week, ABC News reports. According to the Independent, Quereshi was held down by a group of men, including her sister's estranged husband, who poured sulfuric acid on her. The acid ate through the skin of her face and cost her an eye. For a year following the attack, she was suicidal. Then she became the face of Make Love Not Scars, a nonprofit fighting acid attacks. The organization's videos featuring Quereshi have been viewed by 1.3 million people, Reuters reports. Quereshi broke down in tears when she learned she was being flown to New York for Fashion Week. It was the first time she left India. "I couldn't believe it was happening to me," she tells Reuters. She was greeted by a wave of applause as the first model to hit the runway during FTL Moda's show Thursday. The fashion production firm's president says it's important to get people like Quereshi in the public eye. "We can actually stop this thing," she tells ABC. Quereshi agrees, telling the Independent: “It’s important that people hear the story about the survivors of acid attacks and to know they can lead normal lives.” There are about 1,000 acid attacks reported in India every year, though the actual number is probably much higher. (Vogue gave models fake disabilities.)