Gurugram, Dec. 25 -- Sixteen years after an acid attack permanently altered her face, vision, and life, social activist and survivor Shaheen Malik says she feels broken not by the violence she endured, but by the justice system she trusted for more than a decade and a half. On Wednesday, a Delhi court acquitted three main accused of conspiring, along with a juvenile, to carry out the 2009 acid attack on Malik in Haryana's Sonipat-a verdict she says has lost her faith in the system meant to protect survivors. The judgment, delivered by a Rohini court, brought to a close a long-running trial that Malik has pursued since her twenties. Now 42, she describes the verdict as a moment of profound personal and collective loss. "I fought this case for 16 years believing that truth and persistence would matter," Malik said. "Today I feel defeated-not because I survived an acid attack, but because the system could not deliver justice." In 2009, Malik was 26 and building a career in Panipat while pursuing an MBA. She was working as a student counsellor when she was attacked with acid outside her workplace. The assault, she has consistently said, stemmed from hostility and jealousy from colleagues who felt threatened by her confidence and professional growth. "I still remember the colour of the liquid," she recalled. "For a second, I thought it was a prank. Then the burning started, and everything changed." The attack left her face severely disfigured and took away vision in one eye. Over the years, Malik has undergone 25 reconstructive surgeries, repeated eye procedures, and prolonged medical treatment. "There were years of pain, medicines, hospitals and recovery," she said. "I carried on because I believed that one day the court would acknowledge what was done to me." That belief, she says, was shaken on Wednesday. What troubles Malik deeply is not only her own case but also what the acquittal signals to other survivors of acid attacks and gender-based violence. Since 2013, she has worked closely with survivors across India and in 2021 formally established the Brave Souls Foundation, along with a shelter home called Apna Ghar. Through the foundation, Malik has helped more than 300 acid attack survivors access medical care, surgeries, psychological counselling, education, vocational training, and compensation. "These survivors look at me and ask, 'If you could not get justice, what hope do we have?'" Malik said. "How do I motivate them now? How do I tell young girls to fight when the system shows them that years of struggle can still end like this?" She fears the verdict will discourage victims from pursuing legal action. "Many will choose silence or compromise," she said. "They will think the fight will drain their time, energy and finances and still lead nowhere. This judgement risks telling victims that seeking justice is not worth it." Malik, who was raised in a conservative family in Delhi, said even stepping out to work was once discouraged. Yet she pushed boundaries, moved to Haryana, and pursued higher education. "I lost an eye, but I did not lose my courage," she said. "Today it feels like the system has tried to take that courage away too." Asked about her next steps, Malik said she intends to challenge the acquittal in a higher court. "I will appeal," she said. "Whether I will get justice or not, I do not know anymore." Her voice, usually steady when she advocates for others, faltered as she spoke about the broader implications. "For acid attack survivors, for rape survivors-what does this system really offer them? Who is accountable when justice fails?" Malik questioned what she described as a lack of sensitivity within institutions meant to safeguard victims. "People who have never lived this pain are making decisions that define our lives," she said. For a woman who transformed personal trauma into a mission to support others, Wednesday's verdict was more than a legal setback. It reopened wounds that never fully healed and cast a long shadow over her work as an activist. "This case did not defeat me because I lost," Malik said quietly. "It defeated me because the system failed." As she prepares for yet another legal battle, Malik remains a fighter-but one grappling with deep heartbreak. "I survived acid," she said. "I did not expect to survive this much disappointment from the justice system."...