At Sheroes' Hangout in India, the workers are not afraid to show scars of acid attacks

AGRA, India - More than 20 years ago, a man hurled acid into Madhu Kashyap's face. It melted the skin on her cheeks and forehead and partially blinded her in one eye.

For years she would not show her scarred face in public. People stared. She was once told that she looked OK from behind but that from the front, she was a witch.

But on a recent morning, her lips glistened with ruby lipstick. She gathered her curly black hair to one side so the details of her face were more visible. And she smiled.

Kashyap, 39, was at work at Sheroes' Hangout, a cafe in this tourist city that is staffed by survivors of acid attacks. More than 300 attacks are reported each year in India, though human rights groups say the count probably exceeds 1,000.

The perpetrators are often men who want to punish women for ending a relationship or spurning