A new campaign highlights undiagnosed autism in women, supported by a documentary and the creators opened a crowdfund to make it possible.
Johannesburg, South Africa (23 April 2026) – A new South African campaign is putting the spotlight on a group whose experiences have long gone largely unrecognised.
Unmasking is both a documentary project and a national awareness campaign aimed at telling the stories of women who have spent years, and in many cases decades, navigating life without a diagnosis.
For many, the journey is marked by being labelled “too sensitive”, “difficult”, or “too much”. These have been descriptions that often mask a deeper reality.
The result is that many women learn to adapt from a young age, consciously or unconsciously masking their behaviours in order to fit into social expectations.
According to the creators behind Unmasking, that coping mechanism can come at a significant cost. From burnout, anxiety, and a persistent sense of disconnection.
The campaign is driven by Wendy Bowley, who was only diagnosed with autism at the age of 44. Her experience reflects that of many women who have spent most of their lives without the language or framework to understand themselves.
“Getting diagnosed didn’t change who I am, but it changed how I understood my life.”
The documentary is co-directed by award-winning filmmaker Jordy Sank and writer-director Karen Jeynes, who brings her own lived experience as an autistic woman to the project. Karen says masking is often not a conscious choice, but a learned response to environments that reward conformity.
“Over time, that performance becomes so natural that many women don’t even realise they’re doing it.”
Beyond storytelling, Unmasking is also challenging industry norms by building a production team that includes neurodiverse creatives, aiming to ensure that representation extends behind the camera as well.
A national fundraising effort has been launched, with a target of R1 million to support the completion of the documentary. The campaign also introduces a social initiative, “Take Off the Mask”, encouraging people to reflect on their own experiences of hiding aspects of themselves to fit in.
Unmasking is about visibility and about challenging the assumptions that have left many women unseen.
To learn more and support the campaign, follow the link here.
Sources: Supplied
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