Khaberni - As all eyes turn towards Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party's nominee for the position of New York City Mayor, another name emerges, his wife Rama Dawaji. So who is the candidate to become New York's First Lady?
Rama (28 years old) was born in Houston, Texas to Syrian parents, and lived there until her family moved to Dubai when she was nine years old, where she spent her childhood between the Gulf and the United States.
She briefly attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, then completed her master's degree in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York.
The story of her meeting with Mamdani began in a modern way through the dating app Hinge in 2021, while he was a deputy in the New York State Legislature. Their first meeting was at a Yemeni cafe in Brooklyn called "Coffee House", followed by a stroll in McCarren Park, then on their second meeting, he took her on a tour in his legislative district in Astoria, Queens.
Mamdani proposed to her in October 2024, and just days after announcing their engagement on Instagram, he launched his mayoral campaign.
They celebrated their engagement in Dubai, where Rama's family resides, in December, with a traditional family celebration.
They were married in February 2025 in a simple civil ceremony in New York City, away from media fuss.
Rama belongs to a new generation of artists who combine creativity and social activism, beauty and stance. She uses art as a tool to express her issues, especially concerning Arab identity and justice in Palestine and Syria.
Dawaji differs from the traditional image of politicians' wives who avoid controversy, as she clearly expresses her political stances in her artworks depicting women from the Middle East and the struggles of the people of Gaza, and raising the Palestinian flag.
If Mamdani wins the election scheduled for tomorrow, he will become the first Muslim to hold the position of Mayor of New York and the youngest person to hold the position in a century, and Dawaji will also be on a date with making history. She will become the first Gen Z artist to hold the position of the city's First Lady.
