NEW YORKRama Duwaji’s Instagram post on Election Day was just four words long, but it conveyed the message that he couldn’t be more proud.
Alongside it was a voting selfie that would foreshadow a historic evening and a photobooth strip of her in joyful poses with her husband, Zohran Mamdani: The 33-year-old state assemblyman’s victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City would astound both the political establishment and rival Andrew Cuomo.
Many people nationwide woke up on Wednesday eager to learn more about Duwaji, an animator and illustrator who was born in Damascus, Syria, according to her Instagram bio, and Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who is now in the running for the nomination, even though the final result has not yet been confirmed by a ranked choice count.During his winning speech to fans, Mamdani thanked his amazing wife and kissed her hand.
According to one biography page, Duwaji has collaborated on art projects for the BBC, Apple, Spotify, VICE, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and the Tate Modern museum in London. It claims that Rama explores the subtleties of sisterhood and shared experiences through movement and drawn portraiture.
Duwaji also likes to take a vacation from her tech-based art and make her own ceramics, especially blue-and-white decorated plates.
One relatively recent (and frequently publicized) tidbit about the couple is that they met on the dating app Hinge. On a recent episode of The Bulwark podcast, Mamdani laughed and remarked, “There is still hope in those dating apps because I met my wife on Hinge.”
A sweet series of pictures of the pair on their wedding day at the city clerk’s office earlier this year was shared by the candidate approximately six weeks ago. The main image was a black-and-white photograph taken in Manhattan’s Union Square on the New York Metro. While other riders took care of themselves, the happy pair clung onto a pole, with Duwaji carrying a bouquet while wearing a white dress and boots.
Mamdani mentioned the couple’s experiences with internet hostility in the text that went with it.
“You know how vicious politics can be if you look at Twitter today, or any day for that matter,” he wrote. Whether they are requests for my deportation or death threats, I usually ignore them. But when it comes to those you love, it’s different. I got married to my soulmate, Rama, in the City Clerk’s office three months ago. Right-wing trolls are currently attempting to turn this race, which ought to be about you, into one about her.
According to Mamdani, Rama is more than just his wife. She deserves to be recognized on her own terms since she is an amazing artist. You can criticize my opinions, but not those of my relatives.
Duwaji was questioned if it was the duty of artists to raise awareness of global issues in an April interview on art and activism.
Nina Simone once stated, “As far as I’m concerned, an artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” I will never forget that.
I believe everyone has a responsibility to speak out against injustice, she added, and art has such an ability to spread it. Although I don’t believe that everyone must create political art, the process of creating, acquiring, and disseminating art is always political. To me, even making art as a form of escape from the atrocities we witness is political. It’s a response to the environment we live in.
Filmmaker Mira Nair, Duwaji’s mother-in-law, wrote a post to her daughter-in-law on Election Day on the value of art.
With a heart emoji, Nair said, “Darling DIL, art will flourish in our city in the new day.”
