Zohran Mamdani emerged victorious in the recent New York City Mayoral election, garnering over a million votes. At 34 years old, Mamdani made history as the city’s youngest mayor and the first Muslim of South Asian descent to hold the position.
Scheduled to assume office in January, Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, an accomplished illustrator, is poised to become the city’s inaugural Gen Z First Lady at just 28 years old. Born in Houston and raised in Dubai, Duwaji joined her husband on stage at Brooklyn’s Paramount Theatre after his election win, exuding elegance in a black lace dress, drawing comparisons to the iconic Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn.
The couple’s love story began on the dating app Hinge in 2021, culminating in their engagement in October 2024 and a Nikkah ceremony in Dubai in December of the same year. They later had a civil ceremony at Lower Manhattan’s City Hall in February.
Mamdani, the offspring of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, champions progressive policies such as free public transportation, rent freezes, reduced law enforcement presence, and higher taxes on the affluent and large corporations. In a bold statement to his supporters in Brooklyn, Mamdani proudly declared, “I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”
Directing his words to former President Trump, Mamdani’s impassioned speech resonated with the crowd, earning resounding cheers as they celebrated his groundbreaking victory. The couple is expected to relocate to Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor, a historic property dating back to 1799, one of Manhattan’s oldest surviving wooden structures.
