Their husbands threw acid on their faces and set their bodies on fire, but Pakistani women Saira Liaqat and Urooj Akbar are alive and pursuing a career that places emphasis on beauty.

Liaqat and Akbar are among Pakistan’s many female victims of arson and acid attacks, who at one time were involved with a spurned or crazy lover or husband. Often women like them continue life in despair and seclusion because of their disfigurement. But the Associated Press reports these women have become beauticians with the help of the Depilex Smileagain Foundation, an organization devoted to aiding women who have been burned in acid or other attacks.

Liaqat was married in her teens, on paper, to a relative. The families agreed she wouldn’t live with her husband until she finished school, but the man soon began demanding she join him. In July 2003, he showed up at their house with a package and asked for some water. Liaqat says he followed her to the kitchen, and as she turned around, he threw acid in her face. It seared much of her face, blinded her right eye and seriously weakened her left eye.

Akbar was in an arranged marriage by age 22 to a man who became increasingly possessive and abusive. Three years ago, as she slept, her husband allegedly sprinkled kerosene oil on her and lit it on fire. Her face literally melted onto her shoulders, leaving her with no visible neck.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that, in 2007, at least 33 women were burned in acid attacks, and 45 were set ablaze. But those numbers are likely low, since many women are afraid to report incidents out of fear of their attackers, or because they can’t afford the legal bills.

Liaqat and Akbar consider their salon in Lahore a second home and a good way to make a living. But they also serve as reminders of an age-old lesson on beauty.

"Every person wishes that he or she is beautiful," Liaqat, 26, tells the AP. "But in my view, your face is not everything. Real beauty lies inside a person, not outside."