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. 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.  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. 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. She said that just because someone’s face had been destroyed, they could could still carry within them inner beauty and soul. 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. “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.
– 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.)