Crossword Genius

Hear mother repaired to the women's quarters (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

harem

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the women's quarters' is the definition.
(historically, women's quarters in Muslim household)

'hear mother repaired' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
an anagram of 'hear' is 'hare' which is present in the answer.
A single letter 'm' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for harem that I've seen before include "Collection of wives, concubines and female servants" , "Muslim's wives" , "A lot of females" , "Place for women" , "Home to concubines" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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