A young waitress stands in the doorway of Sheroes cafe in Agra. “Welcome to our little cafe,” she says above the rumble of the rush hour traffic.

Her name is Dolly and she is 15 years old.

“I'm the youngest here and the naughtiest,” she says, and then laughs - it is impossible not to join in.

A few customers arrive for a quick cup of masala chai. Agra is submerged in a dense winter fog, so the cafe's colourful murals offer some morning cheer. Dolly takes an order and heads off to the kitchen, flashing another broad grin.

Three years ago someone tried to destroy that winning smile. He didn't succeed but there is no ignoring the thick scar tissue which snakes across most of Dolly's face.

The trouble began when a man from the same neighbourhood - twice Dolly's age - wouldn't leave her alone. He started stalking the 12-year-old schoolgirl, making lewd remarks and suggesting they should sleep together.

Then one day he suddenly turned up at her house while she was playing with other children.

 I ran away towards my room but he threw acid on my face. It started to burn and I screamed and shouted.”

Dolly's family immediately doused the raw flesh of her face with water and she was rushed to hospital. Thanks to the quick thinking of a doctor, her eyes were washed out and her sight was saved.

Even so, Dolly is now permanently scarred and she still has trouble breathing because of the damage to her nostrils. She recalls the moment she asked to look in a mirror after returning home from the hospital.

“My mother refused and told me I was still beautiful. She said I could look in the mirror later. Then my little sister accidentally put a mirror in front of me and I saw it. I cried and howled and screamed.”

Dolly didn't want to eat or leave the house. “I even thought it would have been better if I had died,” she says.

Her gut instinct was that she should cover her face with a veil. For a year, she would ignore the gentle encouragement from her mother to try venturing outside the house.