KABUL , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- Shivering in pain and calling for her mother , Shamsia 's hands shake uncontrollably , her eyes swollen shut and her skin peeling from terrible acid burns . Shamsia and Atifa remain determined to get their education despite the attacks . The 19-year-old was heading to school along with her 16-year-old sister , Atifa , in Kandahar , Afghanistan . It was a warm November morning last year and their only anxiety was being late for class . `` We saw two men up ahead staring at us . One was standing off and the other one was on their motorcycle . I wanted to go but there was a black object in his hand and he took it out , '' Atifa says . The girls thought it was a water pistol . Watch acid attack in Afghanistan » . `` He grabbed my arm and asked , 'Will you be going to school anymore ? ' He then threw acid on my sister and threw acid on me , '' Shamsia says . They were n't the only ones attacked that day . Several other teachers and students were targeted on their way to Meir Weis Mena School in Kandahar , the nation 's third-largest city and one where the Taliban have long been influential . Atifa was burned so badly that her red scarf melted onto her dark brown hair . Parents were so frightened that many students were kept at home for weeks afterward . It 's not the first time girls in Afghanistan have been targeted for attending school . The Taliban have been responsible for dozens of attacks on girls ' schools and female teachers , but even they condemned this attack . Kandahar was the headquarters for the Taliban during its five-year rule of Afghanistan and was home to Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar . During that time , girls were forbidden to attend school . If they tried to get an education , they risked beatings by the religious police , or worse . Parents and family members were threatened , and sometimes killed , for allowing their girls the chance to be educated . Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 , the Afghan government has tried to extend access to education , with some success . About 6 million children attend schools throughout the country , 2 million of whom are girls , according to government figures . The case of Shamsia and Atifa gained national and international attention . See how you can help . `` A real man would never throw acid on the face of a little girl , a real man would n't even want to make a little girl unhappy , '' Afghan President Hamid Karzai said shortly after the attack . `` Beside it being a cowardly act , it is an un-Islamic act . '' Laura Bush , the first lady of the United States at the time who advocated for the education of girls in Afghanistan , called the attacks a `` cowardly and shameful '' act . `` My heart goes out to the victims and their families as they recover from this cruel attack , '' she said . A few weeks after the attacks , the story took a strange turn . The governor of Kandahar announced that 10 men had been arrested and some had confessed . But none was seen until a video made by Afghan Intelligence was released by the Interior Ministry , and aired on Afghan State Television in late December . One of the accused , Jalil , said in the video that a major in the ISI , or Pakistani intelligence unit , approached him and offered him the equivalent of $ 2,000 for each attack . `` He told me I will give 200,000 Pakistani rupees for a teacher 's death , 500,000 for burning a school , and 100,000 for throwing acid on a schoolgirl , '' Jalil said , seeming frightened and agitated as he looked into the camera . He said the major gave him a letter for the Pakistani Consulate in Kandahar , where he received the money . But President Karzai seemed intent on defusing any tensions with Pakistan stirred by the release of the video . During a news conference earlier this month in Kabul with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari , Karzai said that in this case , Pakistan displayed real cooperation to find the culprit . In the past , Karzai has often accused Pakistani officials of being involved in terrorism in Afghanistan and supporting the Taliban . `` For the first time , we had a very sincere and brotherly approach to the issue , which is of satisfaction to us and I hope we can succeed together , '' Karzai said . Pakistani officials tell CNN that the claims about the consulate 's involvement are `` hogwash . '' For once , the attacks have not set off tit-for-tat accusations between the Afghan and Pakistani governments , as both countries deal with the extremists working to keep girls from getting an education . None of the men who appeared on the video has had his day in court . The victims have their own ideas for justice . `` Their punishment should be that they should have acid thrown on their faces in front of me . Just like they threw acid on me , we should throw acid on them , '' Shamsia says . But her greatest revenge , she says , is an education . When asked if she would stop attending school , Shamsia was quick with her response . `` Why would n't I want to come to school ? I want our country to persevere . I have to do something for my country , I must go to school . ''
Shamsia and Atifa were attacked with acid on their way to school in November . `` He grabbed my arm and asked , 'Will you be going to school anymore ? ' '' The girls say their best revenge is to continue to go to school . Afghan president : `` A real man would never throw acid on the face of a little girl ''