It’s a great day for New York City—and for the whole world, really. Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win has already been dubbed “the best thing to happen in 2025,” and it’s hard to argue with that. In a year heavy with chaos, protest, and political fatigue, watching a son of Ugandan-Indian immigrants become the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor feels like a collective exhale. Finally, something good. Something that looks like the future.
Mamdani’s rise to New York’s top office wasn’t inevitable. Far from it. A former community organiser and state assemblyman from Queens, he entered the race as the underdog—young, progressive, and largely underestimated by the city’s political establishment.
His campaign wasn’t powered by corporate money or decades of name recognition, it was fuelled by neighbourhoods, grassroots volunteers, and a message that spoke directly to the people who keep New York running but rarely see themselves reflected in its leadership.
And right there beside him was Rama Duwaji—artist, illustrator, and now, the city’s new First Lady. A Syrian-American creative whose work moves between digital illustration, ceramics, and political commentary. Rama Duwaji has long been part of a generation redefining what Arab artistry looks like on the global stage. Her visuals explore identity, belonging, and womanhood, making her as much a storyteller as she is an artist, using her craft to make space for voices like her own.
For the victory rally, she wore a look by Zeid Hijazi, the Palestinian-Jordanian designer whose work has been gaining attention for marrying Arab folklore with experimental structure.
As Mamdani addressed his supporters and promised to build “a New York for everyone,” Duwaji’s presence reinforced the point.
