Tehran, Iran - After the Taliban ban on women's education in Afghanistan, Iran is planning to accept more female students from the neighboring country.

Iran has increased the University of Tehran’s budget for scholarships to Afghan students fivefold, the state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.

This basis will enable Iran to support more Afghan students, especially women, this year, an official from Tehran University said.

Currently, a total of 470 Afghan students, nearly a quarter of them women, are studying at Tehran University. More than half of these students have scholarships, the official added.

Following the Taliban’s closure of universities for Afghan female students, Iran announced that it is ready to provide special facilities for female Afghan students. Tehran regretted the Taliban’s decision.

Women and girls are largely excluded from public life in Afghanistan.

Iran is also a country whose Islamic legislation is repeatedly criticized. Women, in particular, face systemic disadvantages in the Islamic Republic.

Iran has also come under international criticism for its brutal crackdown on nationwide protests, with women leading the unrest.

The majority of enrolled students in Iranian higher education institutions are women.