The Influence of Religious Discourse in the Keputrian Program on Gender Identity Construction among Female Secondary School Students

This study aims to examine the association between religious discourse within keputrian programs and four dimensions of gender identity construction among female students in senior high schools and equivalent institutions in West Java Province, Indonesia. A quantitative survey design was employed with 370 female students from seven purposively selected schools. Data were collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, measurement model assessment, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The results showed that religious discourse was positively and significantly associated with all four dimensions of gender identity construction, explaining 68.9% of the variance in Interpretation of Institutional Discourse, 16.7% in Negotiation and Resistance, 42.1% in Identity Construction through Appearance, and 28.7% in Agency in Gender Identity Construction. These findings suggest that the keputrian program functions not only to strengthen religious knowledge and character but also as an institutional space where gender identity is constructed and given meaning. The findings highlight the importance of creating educational spaces in which religious values can be conveyed without reinforcing gender stereotypes and restrictions on women’s roles, thereby enabling Islamic education to contribute to the development of more equitable and equal identities. Keywords: religious discourse, keputrian program, gender identity, islamic education, gender equity.