As Zohran Mamdani, 33, celebrates a landmark victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, attention is not only on his political ascent but also on his personal life, particularly his wife, Rama Duwaji, a Syrian-born visual artist based in Brooklyn.
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist and the son of acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan-born academic Mahmood Mamdani, is now poised to become New York City’s first Indian-American and Muslim mayor. His mother, Mira Nair, is a well-known Indian-American filmmaker with films like Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay, The Namesake and many others.
With growing national attention on his candidacy, many are curious about the woman by his side.
In a lighthearted moment captured in a recent video by comedian Kaneez Surka, Mamdani shared dating advice while recounting how he met Rama. “I found my wife on Hinge. So (dating apps) still work,” he said, laughing. He also linked New York’s affordability crisis to modern romance struggles, noting, “The love of your life may be too stressed about surviving in the most expensive city in the US to find you.”
Who is Rama Duwaji?
Rama Duwaji, 27, is an illustrator whose work explores themes of identity, heritage, and migration. Born in Damascus, Syria, she moved to Brooklyn after earning her MFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts, New York.
Her illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and VICE, among others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she briefly returned to live with her family in Dubai. Duwaji’s art draws heavily from her Middle Eastern heritage and lived experience of displacement, often using narrative visual storytelling to express complex cultural emotions.
As Mamdani’s political journey unfolds, Duwaji’s creative voice stands tall beside his, making the couple one of NYC’s most compelling new power duos.
