"It was very difficult for me to digest," she says from Islamabad. "I have been fighting with myself but I must go on. No matter what the punishment the criminal gets it is no compensation for me." Iram required 25 operations, and lost her left eye.

Her story is not uncommon, particularly in rural Pakistan, where women have few rights and no education. Nor is the punishment meted out to her, warranting the existence of the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF). Victims are usually young women in their teens, who are alleged to have brought shame onto their family for rejecting a marriage - often arranged - or unwanted sexual advances. Their burns, while horrific, rarely kill, instead leaving them seriously disfigured and confined to their homes, leading to social isolation and depression.

In 2006, after seven years of research, the ASF issued its first report into attacks by acid, which is cheap and readily available in Pakistan. In the four years after 1999, the ASF had to deal with an alarmingly high number of attacks. Rates began to fall in 2003, thanks to local international education campaigns, rallies during International Women's Day to raise awareness, the support of human rights organisations and the United Nations and, importantly, by victims speaking out.

And yet, shockingly, more than one incident is reported every two days. Dressed in a yellow sari which reveals her scarred body, Mumtaz Mai proudly cradles her nine-day-old daughter Fatima. The 38-year-old, who lives in Basti Dollay Wali, a village in Punjab in Pakistan, was attacked in the middle of the night by an unknown person.

Like many woman living in small villages, she was working in the fields to help support her family. Her attacker has never been caught. "I have my family but lost my beauty," she says.

Saira Liaqat, 22, disguises the pain of being stripped of her youth and beauty with a beautiful smile. At 18, Saira, of Lahore, was caught up in a family argument over an arranged marriage. She was deemed an unsuitable wife after her soon to be sister-in-law convinced her brother that she was not the right woman for him and that the family could not afford the money to carry out the pre-marriage ceremony. Not all the women are able to smile and find happiness. Shamim Mai, 35, and her 15-year-old daughter Safia, were attacked when they were asleep. Safia was just a baby. In 1993, unaware of what she was risking, she challenged a man who sexually abused her while working in the fields in Khan Walla, Pakistan. The man waited until nightfall, while mother and baby were asleep, to douse them in acid.

Shamim underwent multiple operations to restore her sight, but has been left with partial vision. She is now a widow and admits: "My happiness is gone." Then there is Haleema Abdul-Ghafar, 36, and her daughter, Kausar, 8, who were victims of acid violence. Haleema, who lives in a small village in the province of Muzaffargarh, says she and her daughter were attacked eight years ago while they slept. "I have gone through so much pain and the criminal was never caught," she says.

Nalia Raza, 17, paid the ultimate price for rejecting her school teacher's sexual advances. She was just 13 when she became another acid victim. Nalia, from a small village in southern Punjab, must travel long distances to get medical care for her eyes. In parts of the world many 15-year-old girls are at school and flirting with boys their own age. But not for Sabra Sultan, who at 15 was a child bride married off to an older man. The 28-year-old says her husband became discontent with the relationship and she was attacked because she was unable to afford the dowry. "My face was burned, not my heart. I try to stand up like a firm wall but there are people who want to break down that wall," she says.

Many of these women and girls will never recover from the physical and psychological trauma they have been forced to endure. Sadly, many will never see their attackers jailed. In Pakistan, where women face bias in the criminal justice system, the police are reluctant to deal with so-called family matters. Only a small percentage of cases go to trial, bringing the criminals to justice. Most are settled out of court after a substantial bribe is paid.

With the help of ASF and non-profit organisations such as the Depilex Smileagain Foundation (DSF), victims are able to receive ongoing medical treatment, including reconstructive surgery. A team of Italian doctors, with the support of DSF, continues to work and support acid burns victims in Pakistan. "Our objective is to rehabilitate these women, restoring to them a sense of dignity and achievement and mobility through surgery," says the DSF. All surgeries are complicated and involve skin grafting as well as the insertion of skin expanders. The foundation, which has been recognised by the Vatican for its work in this area of women and child abuse, plans to establish a rehabilitation and a vocational training centre, which will provide residential care for 50 victims and 24-hour medical care. Ultimately the foundation hopes to give these women the strength and courage to try to live an independent life.