Shaving pubic hair during sefira

Question

Are men and women permitted to shave pubic hair during sefira?

(Obviously only regarding a situation in that it is already permitted for the subject to shave his/her pubic hair during the year)

Answer 1

The rule applies to hair anywhere on the body (Nit'e Gavriel, Pesach volume 3, chapter 49, paragraph 2, page 279; see that chapter for exceptions, but pubic hair is explicitly not excepted).

Answer 2

Sephardic authorities such as Rav Ovadia Yoseph require women to shave their pubic hair prior to immersing in the mikvah. A woman who follows this practice may certainly shave her pubic hair if she needs to go to the mikvah during sephirah.

The prohibition of a man shaving his pubic hair derives from the assumption of Chazal that shaving pubic hair is the way of women and for a man it is prohibited from the pasuk (Devarim 22:5) "Lo yilbash gever simlas isha" "A man may not wear female clothes". Rashi there gives two explanations, the second of which is that a man must not remove his pubic or underarm hair. The word he uses is not shave, it is lo yasir, do not remove. So whereas a depilatory is permissible for a man to use to remove his beard (and vastly preferable halachically to using a shaver), seemingly he should not use it to remove underarm or pubic hair.