Kuwaitis are voting in parliamentary elections which, for the first time, allow women to cast ballots and stand as candidates. "It feels like a wedding day," said one Kuwaiti women on her way to the poll. Women make up 28 of the 252 candidates. . .

Kuwaiti women are involved in most other elements of their society, particularly business and education. The country has the longest standing tradition of parliamentary democracy in the region, so it is anachronistic that it is one of the last Gulf states to give women their voice at the ballot box. (-BBC)

UPDATE: JUNE 30- BBC reports that women candidates failed to win any seats.

State media reports a high turnout in the election, in which Kuwaiti reformists campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, some of them Islamists, made strong gains. A push for reform in the new 50-seat parliament may help women candidates at the next election, the BBC's Julia Wheeler says. (details)