since its founding in 1978, the "apoist" militant guerilla kurdistan workers' party (pkk) has attracted much interest among kurdish women, who were an integral part of the movement all along. the motivation to join has been described as such: "women join the pkk to escape poverty. they flee a conservative society where domestic violence is common and there is little opportunity for women. other female guerillas are university graduates. they study kurdish history and ocalan, as well as the marxist theories at the root of the pkk, and consider fighting as much an intellectual exercise as a physical one. many join because of relatives in prison, and others join to avoid prison." in her book "blood and belief" on the pkk, aliza marcus elaborates the reaction of kurdish society in turkey, deeply rooted in tradition, to the pkk's women fighters as "a mixture of shock and pride".