The wife of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Rama Duwaji, chose to skip her husband’s debate, making it no surprise that she would remain absent from the entire campaign of Mamdani but it was a conscious decision to remain in the background and do her own thing when her husband does his own thing. The 28-year-old artist did not make any social media posts seeking votes for her husband, did not do any joint television appearances or agree to do any magazine profile. But she accompanied Mamdani to Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’ to sit in the crowd alongside more than 10,000 people. CNN reported that Duwaji declined interviewed during the election campaign and it’s not clear whether she would have any official role if Mamdani is elected mayor.
Duwaji knew what she was getting into, say people familiar with the couple
Mamdani met Duwaji on the dating app Hinge in 2021 when Mamdani was just elected to the New York State Assembly. Duwaji was not politically inclined but they discussed Mamdani’s plans to run for mayor several months before their engagement in 2024. Syrian-origin Duwaji was born in Houston and lived in Texas until her family moved to Dubai when she was 9. She briefly attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar before transferring to the school’s Richmond campus to complete her degree. She later earned a master’s degree in illustration as visual essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York.Photos of their Dubai engagement were the first things to have come under attack after Mamdani launched his mayoral bid as the socialist candidate was criticized for his lavish Dubai engagement. “Duwaji, the person familiar with the couple said, knew what she was getting into. In the year that Mamdani has campaigned for mayor, she has been a major source of support, even if he falls asleep on the couch as they try to get through “Temptation Island” and the “Mission Impossible” series in 15- to 30-minute increments,” CNN reported adding that Duwaji helped the art section of Mamdani’s campaign — the iconograpohy, the font, the color etc. She also helped Mamdani’s campaign improve digital sensibilities.
