I'll celebrate International Women's Day when periods are no longer a taboo

So today is International Women's Day, when we celebrate how far women have come.

I get the concept. Yes, there are many women in roles today that we wouldn't have seen even a couple of decades ago.

Gone are the days when they were seen solely as the homemakers, while men were the breadwinners.

How that plays out in reality is a discussion for another day, but there is one clear difference between males and females and all too often it is swept under the carpet. Periods.

Why is it that so few girls feel able to talk about it with boys and men? Even each other.

Read more: Dad blasts school amid claims pupils are being stopped from going to the toilet in lesson time

In fact recent data from wellbeing brand Intimina suggests that more than 60% of females aged 12 to 17 feel embarrassed while menstruating.

Given the fact it's something that happens each and every month, that's a lot of embarrassment to contend with.

Only 7% say they can talk to their father or a doctor about menstruation, with 86% saying they rely on their mother for information about it.

I get why girls would go to their mum for obvious reasons, but as a society it's something we hide away like a dirty secret.

We still have females talking in hushed tones about that 'time of the month' and scurrying off to the toilet with a tampon hidden in their pocket or up their sleeve before anybody can catch a glimpse.

Why is that? Why are we hiding it?

Is it perhaps because too many men are quick to make a joke about the 'mood' a female might be in because of it. What do we blame a man's bad mood on? Just the football I guess. Because that's not stereotypical is it.

Thirty five years ago my sister and I were in mortified hysterics when our mum was paying for