Is it permissible to refer to women as "Hareem" given the assumptions that the word is not mentioned in the Quran or Sunnah, that its origin is Turkish, and that it may imply shame or be discriminatory against women?

People's statements are divided into two categories: devotional and non-devotional.

The devotional category includes lawful remembrances (dhikr). Their lawfulness cannot be affirmed except with evidence, as Allah Almighty says: ﴿OR HAVE THEY PARTNERS WHO LEGISLATED FOR THEM OF RELIGION THAT WHICH ALLAH HAS NOT AUTHORIZED?﴾, and the Hadith: "Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which is not of it, it is rejected."

The second category is non-devotional, such as daily communications. The general rule for these is permissibility, unless there is evidence prohibiting them.

Based on this, referring to women as "al-Harem" is not devotional but rather a custom. There is no evidence prohibiting it. Rather, it is an eloquent Arabic word meaning what a man protects and prevents others from, except by right, as in the saying: "Part of the noble person's generosity is to defend al-Harem."