Final answer:
True, Mongol women oversaw households and occasionally participated in clan decision-making when men were away. They managed property, crafted various items, and some like Chinggis Khan's wife Borte even led in their husbands' absence. They were respected for their contributions both domestically and economically.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that when Mongol men were away, Mongol women were left to oversee the household and sometimes had a place in the clan’s collective decision-making institutions is true. Women in Mongol society held a variety of responsibilities, which included managing the household, minding property, and engaging in artisanal activities, such as making clothes and shoes from leather. During times when the men were out herding, hunting, or on campaigns, women would sometimes assume leadership roles. Notably, the wife of Chinggis Khan, Borte, served as the de facto leader in his absence.
Although the family structure was patriarchal with arranged marriages and polygamy being common, the legal code known as the yassa helped in providing some structure and protection for women by criminalizing the abduction of wives and the sale of women. Women were crucial in maintaining not just the household but also contributed to the empire's economy through their various skills. Mongol women, compared to their contemporaries in other Af_ro-Eurasian societies, had considerable agency and were also observed by foreign visitors like Giovanni DiPlano Carpini to be equally adept in riding and handling horses.