Asked if Kuwait is ready to take such steps, Deputy Prime Minister al-Sabah stressed Kuwaiti support for U. S. -led peace efforts but would not be specific.

Yet while liberals have cheered the result as a mark of social progress, it does not necessarily augur plain sailing for the al-Sabah family that has ruled Kuwait since the 18th century.

Kuwait's Sheikha Lulu Al Sabah in February held her country's first-ever contemporary art auction.