Kochi: Anez Anzare, the leading Kochi bridal make-up artist in the eye of the #MeToo storm, has fled from India, according to Police. He is reportedly in Dubai now and the Police will be issuing a lookout notice at all airports in the country.
Based on e-mail complaints from three women, the Police has registered a case against him, who was running Anez Anzare Unisex Salon Bridal Makeup Studio at Chalikkavattam, Vyttila.
In the last two weeks, Kerala has been witnessing a #MeToo wave with several women accusing Sujeesh PS, a Kochi-based tattoo artist of sexual harassment and rape from 2018 to 2022. The outrage opened a can of worms with many others accusing makeup artist Anez Anzare of sexual harassment.
Three women sent complaints against him to the Kochi Commissioner of Police, Nagaraju, on Thursday, 10 March.
Kuriakose V U, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kochi said, “We have received complaints against Anez Anzare but since they have not been signed, we have asked the women to respond with detailed complaints and signatures. We will take action as soon as we file the First Information Reports.”
Anez Anzare, with nearly 80,000 followers on Instagram, is a sought after name in the fashion industry with his brand in all the major towns across Kerala. He is a prominent bridal artist and is also a renowned celebrity make-up artist. Malayalam actors, Navya Nair, Rima Kallingal, Augustina Aju, Dileep have been his clients in the past.
However, since 1 March, there have been several allegations that Anzare had allegedly touched women inappropriately while draping the saree, applying makeup or fixing the hairstyle.
“He had started off with the face make-up as usual and later he moved to the neck and the next thing I know, he is moving his hands into my blouse and touching boobs. He was adjusting my bra. So I told him I don’t need makeup there and he laughed,” read a post online.
Arshootti, who has been collating the accounts of women and helping them get legal aid said that at least 10 women have come forward with allegations against Anzare.
Priya Mauldin from Kochi has shared a series of makeup artists with the caption ‘artists you could instead work with’ under the header ‘Kochi Safe MUAs.’
Several influencers have taken to social media to raise awareness on the issue and also urged women to speak up, even if the harassment dated back to a few years.
The survivors of the two cases have started an Instagram page called “InSolidarity2022”, where others can come forward to share testimonies and even seek legal advice.
“We want women to know that they can just click on a Google docs link and share their trauma and seek help. We are a few women, who have also been victimised by misogyny. We assure confidentiality and want this #MeToo movement to grow until all such abusers are caught,” Arshooti said.
In the past three days, they have received over 80 testimonies from women against abusers in art, fashion and film industries, educational institutions, hospitals, fitness centres, police, driving schools and within families. The women’s collective also wants to map predatorily patterns so that abusers can be caught at the earliest and spaces can be made safer for women.