Dowbrigade

Few things exemplify the chaos of Liberia more than the
sight of doped-up, AK-47-wielding 15-year-olds roaming the streets decked
out in fright wigs and tattered wedding gowns. Indeed, some of the more
fully accessorized soldiers in Charles Taylor’s militia even tote dainty
purses and don feather boas. Why did this practice begin and what is
its logic?

Cross-dressing combatants have been regulary seen in the
Liberian Civil at least since 1987, when currently beseiged president
Daniel Taylor laid siege to Monrovia with a
band of dolled-up marauders dressed in "wedding [dresses], wigs,
commencement gowns from high schools and several forms of ‘voodoo’ regalia.They
believed they could not be killed in battle."

from Slate