Gurugram, Dec. 26 -- 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. The judgment, delivered on Wednesday 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." "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. 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....