Zohran Mamdani won last night’s Democratic mayoral primary due in no small part to the fact that he knows how to stay on message. At every turn, he has steered the conversation to the fact that New York needs to be more affordable for the people who live here. There was not much room for other talking points in the campaign, so it might surprise you to learn that Mamdani has a wife. Her name is Rama Duwaji, and she seems really cool.
Barring some weird conservative attacks about their wedding, Duwaji has mostly managed to stay out of the limelight during her husband’s campaign. (To which I say, good for her!) We don’t actually know that much about her, but here’s what we do know.
Who Is Rama Duwaji?
Duwaji is a Syrian artist who works mainly in illustration and animation. She’s done illustrations for the Washington Post and The New Yorker and has created posters for a bunch of cool events across the city. Other than that, we don’t know that much about her, which seems to be by design. She did not have a front-facing role in Mamdani’s campaign and made her first major appearance by her husband’s side on Election Night.
How did they meet?
Hinge! Can you believe it? Mamdani told The Bulwark podcast that he met Duwaji while swiping. “There is still hope in those dating apps,” he told the show’s hosts. In short, these two are the best marketing Hinge has had in years.
When did they get married?
The couple first had a wedding ceremony in Dubai at the end of last year, but more on that in a bit. In April, Mamdani told Interview magazine that he had gotten married in a civil ceremony at the clerk’s office earlier in the year. He stayed mum about the actual ceremony but had lots of good stuff to say about the venue. “I absolutely loved that building,” he told the magazine. “The outside is just so beautiful and reminiscent of a different New York City, and the inside is in many ways public goods personified. All of these New Yorkers getting married at the same time at different ages and at different times in their lives, it’s very beautiful.”
Why were people mad about their marriage?
For reasons I can understand, Mamdani had kept his relationship private throughout most of his campaign. He was forced to address it in May, when right-wing X users accused him of “hiding his wife” and attacked Duwaji for using her art to support the pro-Palestine movement. In their attempt at a “gotcha” moment, these social-media sleuths also came at the couple for their “extravagant” wedding ceremony in Dubai last year. The New York Post reported that wedding ceremonies at the couple’s Dubai venue run about $72 per person with a minimum food-and-beverage spend of about $2,700. Not exactly “extravagant,” per se.
“Before their civil ceremony in New York City, Zohran and his wife celebrated their engagement in Dubai last year — where her family lives — with a small, joyful ceremony surrounded by their loved ones,” the Mamdani campaign said in a statement to the Post.
Is there a way for me to see their beautiful wedding photos?
Yes. In response to the trolls, Mamdani posted photos from his New York civil ceremony on Instagram. “If you take a look at Twitter today, or any day for that matter, you know how vicious politics can be. I usually brush it off, whether it’s death threats or calls for me to be deported. But it’s different when it’s about those you love,” he wrote. “Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk’s office. Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this race — which should be about you — about her.”
“Rama isn’t just my wife, she’s an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms,” Mamdani continued, “You can critique my views, but not my family.”
Obviously, the way these photos were released was not ideal, but congrats to all the elopement girlies who now have the perfect inspo images to show their photographer.
What has Duwaji said about Mamdani’s win?
She’s not much of a talker (understandably so, given how the press has reacted to her simply existing), but Duwaji did share a little something on Election Day. She posted a carousel that included photo-booth pics of her and Mamdani from an Eid celebration earlier this year, a voting-sticker selfie, and an impossibly cute photo of Mamdani as a kid. She captioned the post, “Couldn’t possibly be prouder.”
This post has been updated.