New Delhi (CNN) -- At 17, Sonali Mukherjee had everything going for her. She was a beautiful, intelligent and ambitious young woman, dedicated to excelling in her studies. She was president of the Student Union, captain of the National Cadet Corps and an honor student set to pursue a PhD in sociology despite her modest family background -- her father used to work as a security guard in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand and her mother was a housewife. "I had seen my parents struggle for the most basic things, so I strived to achieve something big so that I could give my family a better life," she said.
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At 17, Sonali Mukherjee's life changed in a instant when three men threw acid on her
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The acid melted her eyes, eyelids, nose, lips, scalp and chest
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Ten years and 27 surgeries later she is still fighting for justice
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The men who scarred her for life were freed after just two years in jail
She won the $40,000 jackpot, enabling her to move to the Indian capital, @placeholder, for better medical treatment.