A human rights magazine has been launched in Bahrain in a bid to give a fresh voice to young Bahrainis and cover local and international issues.

The first edition of Eyes on Humanity, said to be the first-of-its-kind in Gulf, has already hit the shelves and features a perspective of human rights in Bahrain, articles on the situation in Syria and problems faced by stateless people in Kuwait.

"This magazine is published in Bahrain and distributed to international human rights organisations and all those parties working in this sector," said editor-in-chief Fatima Buhassan.

"This is purely a voluntary job taken up by young Bahrainis to come out with an opinionated magazine on human rights. We are not anti or pro-government and do not publish biased facts or numbers."

Rights

The magazine, created by a team of 12 young professionals, was launched during an event at the InterContinental Regency Bahrain last month.

Buhassan said the market was flooded with magazines focused on fashion, car, news and celebrities, but none about human rights.

"In Bahrain's case, we want everyone to practice their freedom to expression, but it should not violate rights of other people," she said. "Our magazine is an attempt to create awareness on human rights and ensure it applies all over the world."

The magazine was launched with an initial print run of 2,500 copies and was distributed among local and international human rights groups.

"Our next cover story will focus on rights of expatriates especially those affected because of the unrest last year," said Buhassan.

"Our roots are human rights and this is what we will continue to focus and highlight in each edition. It is not always easy to deliver the voice of a young group globally but we are determined to make it happen and speak out what we think, for a better tomorrow."

The editorial team presently works out of the Bahrain Jurists Society in Zinj, but are on the lookout for a new place to publish the magazine. – TradeArabia News Service